I went to the opening inaugural ceremony. I performed for the collecting masses. And the magnitude of the moment possessed me:
Across the frozen Potomac our buses rode in a convoy of two. Into an increasing sea of citizens we pushed with celebratory, finger-pointing awe. Above us the Washington Monument transected the pale, clouded sky.
From a mile away the gravitas of a great, seated figure glowed green from within the American Parthenon we call the Lincoln Memorial. And I, overshadowed by the enormity of marbleized history and transcended by Martin Luther King Jr.'s prophesy fulfilled, played with the Highty Tighties on the National Mall for any who might listen.
We honored the occasion and in return were honored by the occasion.
A little over a week later and the artistic fervor bled off and a more scrupulous disposition hit me: If merchandizing happened to be a first ambassador that day, then any stranger to our democratic turnings would believe the occasion was wholly dedicated to adulating Barack Obama -- and to a much lesser degree Joe Biden. But the quadrennial event a week ago must never be about any one person.
It must never mutate into the coronation ceremony of anyone, especially if anyone else might be moved to refer to this person as "the one" -- ala Oprah Winfrey (or worse, Farrakhan's "messiah").
The Presidential Inauguration is the highest celebration of the greatest political ideology this planet has ever known: democracy. Not to put too grandiose a point on it. Once a cult of personality replaces individual responsibility, we fall. We fail.
But I must concede that the inauguration is also a celebration of individual achievement. That one man (and very soon I'm sure, woman) can fight for the hearts and minds of the nation and take responsibility for its economic and social health is sublimity unparalleled.
And as I stood with the Highty Tighties facing the World War II memorial, I felt it. I felt the ecstasy of one more peaceful transfer of power. A transaction of regrettable exception in world history. I felt the ecstasy of living within the borders of a country that is strong enough to ensure we don't bleed when someone decides he wants the Oval Office.
In his inauguration speech, Obama said, "Our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint." Are we to believe that our enemies fear us because we have "justness" on our side? This is asinine in the highest.
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Thank you for a good article about the infatuation with our new president. One thing that we MUST stop saying is "If the President fails, the country fails." This mentality can be devastating to a nation, as the people 'rally' behind their leader only to find (too late) that they're supporting unjust causes. EVERY member of gov't should be carefully critiqued - that's the point of the Bill of Rights.
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people shouldn't rally behind their leaders, leaders should rally behind their people. Obama is one man, not perfect and eventually will make a mistake, and millions of supports will go back to their homes and do nothing.
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