First, yesterday was a wonderful day. I was so excited to sit my girls on my lap in front of the computer and listen as a family to Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" Speech. It literally brought tears to my eyes as I watched Cailin soaking in every word of that speech. As I helped her memorize my favorite line "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." As we talked about the significance of that speech, of that gathering. The significance of those masses standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. That this historic day would not be happening if that historic day had never occurred. The impact of that thought is so incredibly grand.
On to today's events. I was so tempted to keep Cailin home from school. I didn't because I was convinced by friends that they would be watching the inauguration in their classrooms. Why oh why do I fool myself into putting more faith than deserved into the public school system. Cailin's class watched 10 minutes. Blah, unacceptable. I should have kept her home. Anyways, we will Youtube it later this week.
Huge moments for me:
His denouncement of
"petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations andWhat? What? How will government even be able to function without those, aren't those the backbone that hold our political system together? Basically a polite big fat raspberry to the Bush administration.
worn out dogmas"
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not aI looked and looked and I couldn't find any speech given by a president that was inclusive to Atheists. What a big step. Its about time we actually have a President that acknowledges the fact our Nation is made up of more than wealthy white God fearing gun toting men. Hallelujah! These differences do have the potential to make us a stronger nation. If everyone just stopped trying to look through the same toilet paper tube, this nations eyes would be open to more that we thought we were capable of. The spirit is behind us, now lets all just take a step.
weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and
non-believers."
"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground hasEver since Reagan there has been rhetoric after rhetoric about government involvement. Is the government part of the problem or part of the solution? Guess what the government is here to stay, they have to be part of the solution, because they exist to govern. That is its job. That is our job. T o work together, unite. We are reminded... "This is the price and promise of citizenship" The government just needs a little reshaping to better serve the people.
shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have
consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not
whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it
works..."
President Obama (doesn't that just sound so wonderful) was able to, in about 15 minutes, completely wipe out all of Bush's failures and falsehoods, bad policies and indecisions.
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear,I don't want today to end. But at the same time I'm excited for tomorrow to begin. This is truly an historic moment. To all of you out there just waiting for him to fall on his ass. Unclench your fists, turn your frowns upside down. When pleasant surprise begins to creep into your character, let it in. Let him succeed, accept him, support him, be proud of him. We would have done the same for your guy.
unity of purpose over conflict and discord....the time has come to set aside
childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring
spirit..."
