History
For weeks now I've known that we, a mostly-collective American "we," had elected to the Presidency an African-American. I've known this intellectually since November, but, it wasn't until I was watching the inauguration over the internet with several coworkers in my office that I realized it in my heart.
Aretha Franklin was singing before a crowd of almost two million people, and my coworker started joking about the giant bow on her hat. We all sort of chuckled, but I said, "You know what? If you're Aretha Franklin, you're entitled to wear whatever you damn well want."
For some reason, that was when I realized that the President of the United States, the man I campaigned for, a black man, was making history and I was witnessing it.
Obama delivered a grounded speech that both rebuked the past eight years of Conservative governance, while laying bare the incredible and daunting challenges at hand. His subtle line about not sacrificing our ideals for expediency harked back to Ben Franklin's famous line about "those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither," but stood in complete contrast to George Bush's torture regime, illegal domestic wiretapping and occupation of Iraq.
I'll be the first one to admit to cynicism: George W. Bush has been President of the United States for my entire voting life. I've never, as a thinking adult, known otherwise. And after one day in office, some of my hardened cynicism is starting to thaw.
On his first day, Obama has: pledged a halt to the Gitmo kangaroo courts; reversed the perverse Bush-era secrecy rules to make good on his pledge for more open government; and a White House pay freeze and landmark lobbying regulations. This is only day one, and there's still a lot of work to do, but I have a little hope again.
We need to keep our new President's feet to the fire and keep advocating for progressive causes as we have the past six years. It's good to remember that FDR didn't run on a progressive platform, it was popular progressive and liberal sentiment that drove his administration. Now isn't the end of the road. It's more like a well-deserved coffee break.
Aretha Franklin was singing before a crowd of almost two million people, and my coworker started joking about the giant bow on her hat. We all sort of chuckled, but I said, "You know what? If you're Aretha Franklin, you're entitled to wear whatever you damn well want."
For some reason, that was when I realized that the President of the United States, the man I campaigned for, a black man, was making history and I was witnessing it.
Obama delivered a grounded speech that both rebuked the past eight years of Conservative governance, while laying bare the incredible and daunting challenges at hand. His subtle line about not sacrificing our ideals for expediency harked back to Ben Franklin's famous line about "those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither," but stood in complete contrast to George Bush's torture regime, illegal domestic wiretapping and occupation of Iraq.
I'll be the first one to admit to cynicism: George W. Bush has been President of the United States for my entire voting life. I've never, as a thinking adult, known otherwise. And after one day in office, some of my hardened cynicism is starting to thaw.
On his first day, Obama has: pledged a halt to the Gitmo kangaroo courts; reversed the perverse Bush-era secrecy rules to make good on his pledge for more open government; and a White House pay freeze and landmark lobbying regulations. This is only day one, and there's still a lot of work to do, but I have a little hope again.
We need to keep our new President's feet to the fire and keep advocating for progressive causes as we have the past six years. It's good to remember that FDR didn't run on a progressive platform, it was popular progressive and liberal sentiment that drove his administration. Now isn't the end of the road. It's more like a well-deserved coffee break.
posted by Patrick at Wednesday, January 21, 2009
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