Say Amen!

I'm sorry but I was non-plussed by President Obama's speech yesterday (and Michelle's outfit, but that's another post...)

Now, while I am thrilled that we are finally rid of George Walker Bush and Dick Cheney, although I wasn't sure, right up until 12:00 noon that they would actually really, in fact, go, I have to say that I was completely uninspired by the Inaugural Address.

I realize that Obama had some very big shoes to fill. There are alot of people who still remember Roosevelt's Inaugural, "There is nothing to fear...", and still more who remember JFK and "Ask not...", and even more who can still hear Obama, himself, say,"I don't see a white America..."

Where was the oratory with which Obama has become so identified? Where were the stirring words evoking Lincoln, King, Reagan and even Clinton (Bill, that is...)?

Yes, we have a lot of huge problems and yes, Obama had to be careful not to promise too much and yes, he had to be careful not to offend anyone or seem too arrogant.

But many highly regarded intellects said that his job was to inspire...to inspire confidence.

I didn't hear that if he said it. He talked about righting the wrongs of the past eight years.

He talked of the inherent greatness of the U.S.

He spoke of a return to ideals and values and positive energy and even of love.

But I wasn't inspired.

I wasn't inspired to eat tofu instead of beef.

I wasn't inspired to wear pleather rather than leather.

I wasn't inspired to ride a horse rather than an SUV.

I wasn't inspired to love my fellow man.

I wasn't inspired to believe that this administration and its' appointees are going to do any better a job than Bush 43 or Clinton or Bush 41 or Reagan or Carter or Ford or Nixon or...well, ok, maybe Bush 43, but that won't take much more than getting out of bed.

I just wasn't inspired.

What did, however, inspire me was seeing all of the children. They are the future. That's a tired way of describing them but it's true. Adults almost always screw things up because we are so caught up in our own agendas and have our eyes only on the prize, seldom on the big picture.

Children, in their innocence, think of the possibilities. They have yet to encounter failure and disappointment and despair. They still have Mommy and Daddy and Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. They haven't met the IRS or the phone company or the police.

They still think everything can be achieved.

Ok...I'm wrong.

Maybe I was inspired...maybe a little bit...by the fact that in my lifetime, one that saw Selma and Birmingham and "I have a dream"...that in my lifetime...this country nominated and elected a black (or white, dependent on whether you're talking about his mother or his father) man to be the President.

Unbelievable. Now all of the children everywhere, white, black, yellow, red, brown, rich, poor, gay, straight, left, right, Catholic, Jew, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, atheist,
healthy and/or disabled can really say and really believe that...

...in the United States...anyone can grow up to be the President...!

ANYONE!

Now that is inspiring!

Say Amen...!