America, the Meritocracy
Many people have already commented on the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America. Much has been said about his race, and the role that plays in history, our National politics, and the mood of the Citizenry. I'd like to comment on a slightly different perspective, and one that I find more personally moving, than those I've been hearing since Election Night.
Looking beyond mere partisan divisions, our Nation has been mired in a level of personal selfishness for a great many years. The Baby Boomers, arguably, were (unintentionally perhaps) spoiled by the Greatest Generation, to become an Entitlement Generation. Generation X displays the classic third-generation-of-immigrants level of self-involvement that is seen where the scope of the sacrifices of their ancestors is too far removed from the day to day living of their descendants. The preoccupation with wealth and status of the Reagan Presidency gave us a marketplace dominated by Gordon Gecko wannabees, the first Gulf War fostered an arrogant superiority over the cultures of the Middle East, and the Internet Boom of the Clinton days convinced every computer-literate person that they deserved to be a Dot-Com Millionaire. Clearly, the cronyism and plutocracy that seemed to dominate the past eight years, combined with the realization that these pipe dreams of fortune and glory were realized only for a tiny fraction of the populace, drove the USA into a sense of despair and apathy that reached across boundaries of race and class.
While there can be no doubt that the swearing-in of President Obama is the long overdue realization of a dream of blurring racial boundaries, to me it is his background and his upbringing that tells the true tale of the man, and lights a path for all Americans regardless of the color of their skin. Here, we have a President who emerged from a broken family to attend the best colleges through hard work and perseverance. We have a man who rose through the ranks because of his skill, certainly not because of his family name. We have an achieved author, leader, and community activist who was able to achieve the highest post in the Nation by applying reason and rationale, by building coalitions rather than leaning on favors, and by questioning and refining his methods instead of surrounding himself only with those who succor by telling him what he wants to hear. His calls are for the pride achieved through self-sacrifice, not for the lure of self-indulgence, and he backs these calls with a lifetime of his own efforts and experience. His offer is that America is great not when merely a handful among us achieve a zenith of good fortune, but when we each work together resulting in a common prosperity for everyone.
The lesson of today, for all children and adults both in the United States and abroad, is that the highest achievements and laurels of Mankind await those who strive diligently for them, not merely for those who are born into privilege or those who idly dream of better days as if hope were its own currency. Todays Inauguration is a signal that we are a people who honor demonstrated ability and talent, that service to each other is a reward worthy of the greatest honor, that intellectualism and rationality are assets to be lauded and honed, and that any person of any race or background can achieve personal greatness in these United States of America if they hold these ideals paramount above all others, and are willing to exert the proper effort and exercise introspective discipline.
Today, America once again became a Meritocracy. Let each of us commit to achieve our own goals of personal excellence, and we will all rise on a tide that will lift us to glorious seas yet uncharted, and dreams yet unimagined: America the beautiful, America the dream, America the ideal.
Looking beyond mere partisan divisions, our Nation has been mired in a level of personal selfishness for a great many years. The Baby Boomers, arguably, were (unintentionally perhaps) spoiled by the Greatest Generation, to become an Entitlement Generation. Generation X displays the classic third-generation-of-immigrants level of self-involvement that is seen where the scope of the sacrifices of their ancestors is too far removed from the day to day living of their descendants. The preoccupation with wealth and status of the Reagan Presidency gave us a marketplace dominated by Gordon Gecko wannabees, the first Gulf War fostered an arrogant superiority over the cultures of the Middle East, and the Internet Boom of the Clinton days convinced every computer-literate person that they deserved to be a Dot-Com Millionaire. Clearly, the cronyism and plutocracy that seemed to dominate the past eight years, combined with the realization that these pipe dreams of fortune and glory were realized only for a tiny fraction of the populace, drove the USA into a sense of despair and apathy that reached across boundaries of race and class.
While there can be no doubt that the swearing-in of President Obama is the long overdue realization of a dream of blurring racial boundaries, to me it is his background and his upbringing that tells the true tale of the man, and lights a path for all Americans regardless of the color of their skin. Here, we have a President who emerged from a broken family to attend the best colleges through hard work and perseverance. We have a man who rose through the ranks because of his skill, certainly not because of his family name. We have an achieved author, leader, and community activist who was able to achieve the highest post in the Nation by applying reason and rationale, by building coalitions rather than leaning on favors, and by questioning and refining his methods instead of surrounding himself only with those who succor by telling him what he wants to hear. His calls are for the pride achieved through self-sacrifice, not for the lure of self-indulgence, and he backs these calls with a lifetime of his own efforts and experience. His offer is that America is great not when merely a handful among us achieve a zenith of good fortune, but when we each work together resulting in a common prosperity for everyone.
The lesson of today, for all children and adults both in the United States and abroad, is that the highest achievements and laurels of Mankind await those who strive diligently for them, not merely for those who are born into privilege or those who idly dream of better days as if hope were its own currency. Todays Inauguration is a signal that we are a people who honor demonstrated ability and talent, that service to each other is a reward worthy of the greatest honor, that intellectualism and rationality are assets to be lauded and honed, and that any person of any race or background can achieve personal greatness in these United States of America if they hold these ideals paramount above all others, and are willing to exert the proper effort and exercise introspective discipline.
Today, America once again became a Meritocracy. Let each of us commit to achieve our own goals of personal excellence, and we will all rise on a tide that will lift us to glorious seas yet uncharted, and dreams yet unimagined: America the beautiful, America the dream, America the ideal.