As we approach the first full week of the Obama administration (and it feels as good to type it, as to say it), I think that we all need to take a step back and remember that BHO is just a man. He is neither Jesus nor Satan. Water will not turn to wine upon his touch, and the fires of hell will not rise up from the Potomac. But, he is in charge of our government. BHO, in that wonderfully sober Inaugural Address, gave us a history lesson last Tuesday, with a little church thrown in for good measure.
More than anything, I loved the fact the BHO called on the citizens of the United States to "...pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." It was a call to arms of sorts. It was the antithesis of the former POTUS' call for us to go "shopping" in the wake of September 11 and the subsequent wars. It was a reminder of the BHO campaign line of the American people being "...the change we are waiting for."
Though I know, and I hope many others realize, that BHO cannot produce miracles, I am excited that the petulance of the former administration is not evident in the current. I am reveling in the sense that an adult is at the helm. BHO will make mistakes; we all do. BHO will disappoint; remember Rick Warren? But I sense that BHO recognizes the gravity of the situations at hand, and that his recognition is not colored with the lens of partisan political posturing. And that sense feels very good right now.
I will admit that when I watched the Inaugural Address, I wasn't listening intently. I basked in the image of the moment. Yet, when I read the address, I understood exactly the message that BHO wanted to convey both to us and the world. He wanted to remind us of who we are as Americans. He wanted us to reflect on our accomplishments as citizens over time. Ultimately, BHO needed to bring us back to the fact that nothing in life comes for free and without struggle. It was an appropriate message for these troubling times.
Besides, we really don't need to break out the wine right now. Water will do just fine.
4 comments:
I guess I'm stupid.
Here's what I heard last week: gag rule rescinded, stem-cell research restored, middle east envoy appointed, presidential records re-opened, Guantanamo ordered closed, torture rejected, EPA ordered to do its job, staff restricted to non-shills for the industry their supposed to regulate (ie, no lobbyists).
People are complaining?
Well there is that one exception on the "no lobbyists" front: the #2 at DOD.
There's an old legend that in Amish quilts the quiltmakers intentionally insert a mistake somewhere. The reason is that God would never want you to create something perfect; it's a challenge to the perfection of his creation. So they make sure there's an error, just to avoid challenging God.
Likewise: the number 2 at DOD.
I felt that Obama's speech was a comment on making us growing up. After 200 years, it's like the US has finally reached adulthood.
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