a historical day

I’m not into politics. I’m not registered to vote and I shy away from C-SPAN and all the political stuff on television, during news casts and interviews and “special interruptions.” The most I’ve paid attention to presidents in my lifetime comes down to three things: as a kindergartener reading Weekly Readers I remember the split-photos on the cover; as a high school student I remember the whole Bill Clinton ordeal; and over the past president’s tenure I remember every Hallmark card, Family Guy episode and SNL skit poking fun at George Bush for his speech-giving skills (or lack-there-of).

This 2008 election has made me care, and today has made me care even more. So much in fact that I found myself not only looking forward to the coverage on every channel of this great historical event, something I might normally be annoyed with, but going as far as planning my day around it – going for a run and to the library earlier than normal, and holding off on a shower in order to be a part of this amazing and previously unimaginable in some minds, moment in history.

I have to give a shout-out to my brother, Aaron, here, who has been harping on me constantly to care about politics. He actually called today and left a voicemail saying something along the lines of: “… I was thinking that maybe if you have some time today, you might want to turn on the TV and watch the inauguration. I know it’s not your cup of tea, but it’s a really important part of history and … you might want to turn on your TV.” Little did he know I was a few steps ahead of him.

The first thing I notice about this inauguration is how impeccable this woman senator is. Her name and state affiliation are both escaping me, but what a great speaker and “MC” of sorts for this occasion. She speaks with great pride and dignity and sets the tone for the rest of the ceremony.

Aretha Franklin sings “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and I begin to tear up. This song has never meant so much to me before today. I sang it every day in elementary school, simply going through the motions because everyone else did, too. Now, it has meaning, like so much else that we discover as we grow up.

Cameras pan across the estimated 1.4 million onlookers positioned on the mall that lies between the Washington Monument and the Capitol to witness this great event first-hand. A white woman holds her small child with tears in her eyes, and next to her is a pair of young, wide-eyed Asian women, listening intently, arms linked together. Cameras from overseas in Kenya and Indonesia show children in classrooms and entire villages coming together to watch this magnificent inauguration. A feed from the African American Library in Fort Lauderdale shows an elderly African American woman, tissues in hand, a hopeful and inspired look on her face.

The invocation that is given is by far the most inspiring and powerful prayer I have ever heard. In ending with the Lord’s Prayer, I am near tears once more. The whole thing was so powerful I don’t remember much of what was said.

Another outstanding musical performance followed, and preceded the swearing in of our country’s new administration.

He is President of the United States.

Countless red, white and blue flags wave with chants of “O-bam-A!” abounding through our nation’s capitol. Happy tears fall, hopeful smiles appear and as I sit in my Miami Beach apartment, I hear celebrations and clapping and I can feel the difference in this day.

The President’s speech cannot be put into words and cannot be duplicated by any article or blog or political analyst’s thoughts. All in all, a perfect address was given by a respectful yet demanding, hopeful but realistic, and strong but compassionate man.

A poem by a friend of the President’s, Elizabeth Alexander follows the speech and next is the Benediction from Rev. Joseph E. Lowery – a man, who has said that he thought he would never see this day come.

“Yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.”

The National Anthem closes the ceremony and the image of the flag fading into a live picture of our new President and First Lady, both singing proudly, sticks in my mind as one of the most memorable images in U.S. history.

It’s a small thing to some I guess to reschedule something as simple as a run, especially when you’re unemployed, but to me, it’s a new beginning for America, and for myself.

“What a moment for the man, and what a moment for the country.”