We Are All of Us Witnesses
While I did not get to see all of the inauguration speech, the part that I did get to see was pretty good. Our new President told us what we needed to hear, and while none of it was Earth-shattering like the speeches of his predecessors, such as FDR and the only thing we have to fear, or JFK with asking not what our country can do for us, or even any of Obama's past speeches to the DNC. But the point is, today, in the morning hours over much of the country, in our homes, our offices, our community centers, in our streets, we were witnesses to a day in which the world has changed that much more in one very short day.
The people were like ants on sugar as they gathered on the grounds of the National Mall, over one million strong. The chants were raucus and full of energy. The man they were cheering for, calm. Cool. Collected. It was as if he could look at the turmoil our once proud and invigorated nation is in, stare it right in the eye, and say, "I've got this." Cool as the other side of the pillow. He did not mince his words, nor did he appear grandiose. He spoke in plain words, reminded us of where we've been, how we got to where we are now, and where we can go from here. Please God, let it be nowhere else but up.
This is another moment of history for my generation, Generation Y. For a while, the only conversation piece we would have to define us was, "Where were you when 9/11 happened?", or "What's the dumbest Bushism you've ever heard?" Now, we can ask each other, "Where were you when the first black President was sworn into office?" For me, I was in Jackie's office, watching it on a 10-inch screen tv, with Marivel, Byron, Keelan, Andrea, Jason, and Suzanne. I was only there for the last 9 minutes of it, but I caught at least that much.
The people were like ants on sugar as they gathered on the grounds of the National Mall, over one million strong. The chants were raucus and full of energy. The man they were cheering for, calm. Cool. Collected. It was as if he could look at the turmoil our once proud and invigorated nation is in, stare it right in the eye, and say, "I've got this." Cool as the other side of the pillow. He did not mince his words, nor did he appear grandiose. He spoke in plain words, reminded us of where we've been, how we got to where we are now, and where we can go from here. Please God, let it be nowhere else but up.
This is another moment of history for my generation, Generation Y. For a while, the only conversation piece we would have to define us was, "Where were you when 9/11 happened?", or "What's the dumbest Bushism you've ever heard?" Now, we can ask each other, "Where were you when the first black President was sworn into office?" For me, I was in Jackie's office, watching it on a 10-inch screen tv, with Marivel, Byron, Keelan, Andrea, Jason, and Suzanne. I was only there for the last 9 minutes of it, but I caught at least that much.