President Obama!
Ah, what a day!!!!! I'm overwhelmed. I've never really said that I was proud to be American. Not that I haven't been, but I guess I just haven't felt very patriotic the last few years. Yes, I love my country, always, but it's hard to feel "pride" when you think its going in the wrong direction and you have no faith in your leaders. But today, I can say with conviction that I feel a lot of pride. I even tried to find a shirt or something with an American flag on it but I realized I don't have any, lol. So I wore my Obama pin on my jacket.
I think everyone should have had the day off, lol. Not just Americans, but everyone! It seems that a lot of classes back home got to watch the swearing in and such. And everyone at work was watching. I went to class but I don't know how I could focus. Even my philosophy professor was stoked. Her cell went off during class, which was apparently someone informing her of where she could watch the inauguration!
I have to say that the facebook/cnn feed was quite a nifty thing. Being sort of isolated in Hali, it helped to feel like I was watching the events unfold with thousands of other excited enthusiastic hopeful men and women from around the world. That was fantastic to see everyone elses thoughts as things happened.
The inauguration: Awesome!!!!! 2 million people, wow! Best parts were Aretha singing America, Cheif Justice Roberts messing up the oath (haha), and Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma. Oh and Obama's daughters taking pictures. So cute. The poem was really weird and Michelle looked like she was trying hard to figure out what the lady was talking about! Oh and another highlight was referring to GWB as the "former President." :)
Speech: Well the speech was overwhelming. Probably the best speech of my lifetime, that I've heard. He really spoke to everyone and integrated everybody into his speech. Bush got owned a couple times in the speech, not a bad thing. But overall, you could really feel the conviction and meaning in what he was saying. Some of my favorite quote:
"All are equal, all are free"
"...all deserve the chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
"We will restore science to its rightful place"
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" (Take that Bush!)
"People will judge you on what you build, not on what you destroy" (speaking to world leaders)
Right now, the Obamas just got back in the car after walking down the street for a bit. Pretty brave of them. And I'm enjoying the facebook statuses regarding Michelle walking in her heels, lol. Ah, I love technology. . . sometimes.
It's a great day. As some civil rights dude said, we've come so far in such a short time. Only in America.
In sociology, we were talking about Max Weber's views that a charismatic leader will change the world. Since Hitler, that seems to have a negative connotation. And while I know that people get swept up in Obama and he hasn't "Done anything yet", the massive amount of hope that he's instilled in so many millions of people all over the world IS something in itself. People actually believe things can change for the better now. That their own lives can change. Of course, his words need to be backed up.I think that if Obama makes good on even a fraction of what he's promised, his presidency will be a success. He certainly has a lot of support, from people of all sides. Someone in class said they watched the speech with cynicism and looking for flaws but was really impressed.
Quote of the Day:
Jesse: This is a tribute to us, Kathleen! We had to suffer both our entire high school AND college days in a dark political stigma. Here's to turning our spirits for the U.S. around, and having real pride!
I think everyone should have had the day off, lol. Not just Americans, but everyone! It seems that a lot of classes back home got to watch the swearing in and such. And everyone at work was watching. I went to class but I don't know how I could focus. Even my philosophy professor was stoked. Her cell went off during class, which was apparently someone informing her of where she could watch the inauguration!
I have to say that the facebook/cnn feed was quite a nifty thing. Being sort of isolated in Hali, it helped to feel like I was watching the events unfold with thousands of other excited enthusiastic hopeful men and women from around the world. That was fantastic to see everyone elses thoughts as things happened.
The inauguration: Awesome!!!!! 2 million people, wow! Best parts were Aretha singing America, Cheif Justice Roberts messing up the oath (haha), and Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma. Oh and Obama's daughters taking pictures. So cute. The poem was really weird and Michelle looked like she was trying hard to figure out what the lady was talking about! Oh and another highlight was referring to GWB as the "former President." :)
Speech: Well the speech was overwhelming. Probably the best speech of my lifetime, that I've heard. He really spoke to everyone and integrated everybody into his speech. Bush got owned a couple times in the speech, not a bad thing. But overall, you could really feel the conviction and meaning in what he was saying. Some of my favorite quote:
"All are equal, all are free"
"...all deserve the chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
"We will restore science to its rightful place"
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" (Take that Bush!)
"People will judge you on what you build, not on what you destroy" (speaking to world leaders)
Right now, the Obamas just got back in the car after walking down the street for a bit. Pretty brave of them. And I'm enjoying the facebook statuses regarding Michelle walking in her heels, lol. Ah, I love technology. . . sometimes.
It's a great day. As some civil rights dude said, we've come so far in such a short time. Only in America.
In sociology, we were talking about Max Weber's views that a charismatic leader will change the world. Since Hitler, that seems to have a negative connotation. And while I know that people get swept up in Obama and he hasn't "Done anything yet", the massive amount of hope that he's instilled in so many millions of people all over the world IS something in itself. People actually believe things can change for the better now. That their own lives can change. Of course, his words need to be backed up.I think that if Obama makes good on even a fraction of what he's promised, his presidency will be a success. He certainly has a lot of support, from people of all sides. Someone in class said they watched the speech with cynicism and looking for flaws but was really impressed.
Quote of the Day:
Jesse: This is a tribute to us, Kathleen! We had to suffer both our entire high school AND college days in a dark political stigma. Here's to turning our spirits for the U.S. around, and having real pride!