inauguration
Cathy Willey (photo)
Many, many people are very, very happy today. It's like soccer's World Cup, or Olympic gold. Only this time it's not about sports, and the spirit of joy is not confined to one country. This time it's about something important. It's about how a large portion of the world's resources - not just mineral wealth, but talent also - will be directed, and how the people with power and influence will treat the people without. It's about what's right and what's wrong - and who draws the line between that defines them. It's about turning towards truth and facts as the basis for making decisions and policy.
Maybe it's more like the Super Bowl or the World Series, because not everybody (in this country) picked the winner. But unlike a sports loss, there's some spirit of goodwill for the other side, to wait and see how things go, because their side had its flaws too, and they weren't entirely satisfied with where their own team was taking them.I'm wondering whose insane idea it was to have a quartet (violin, clarinet, 'cello, piano) playing outdoors in 30°F weather. If they survive the thermal stress, how can you expect the instruments will be in tune? I just stumbled across a blog entry noting that the 'cello is carbon fiber, not wood.
Traffic was very light on my commute to work. (It was also cold, 28°F (-2°C), but that's not unusual for mid-January.) There are many fewer cars than usual at my office. TVs in the auditorium/cafeteria/lobbies are all tuned to CNN, so people can see as much of the ceremonies as they want.
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