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Inauguration Thoughts
I debated whether or not to write about this since I normally don’t blog in-depth about political topics.
Originally, I wasn’t going to watch the inauguration. I had never watched one before; why would I start now? However, something in me said it was an inauguration I needed to watch. It was going to be such a historical event in our nation’s history.
My thoughts:
The chanters in the crowd singing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” as President Bush was introduced are classless assholes. Whether or not you agree with the man’s politics, as President of the United States, he deserves everyone’s respect.
There’s been a lot of coverage regarding the actual oath. Yes, the Chief Justice botched “to” instead of “of” and on repeating put “faithfully” in the wrong place. But I hate to break it to the people complaining that the phrases were too long (which I do agree with).. it’s been like that (with a couple variations) for quite a while:
- George W. Bush
- Bill Clinton
- George H. W. Bush
- Ronald Reagan
- Richard Nixon
- John F. Kennedy
- Dwight Eisenhower
Hell, listen to Franklin D. Roosevelt take oath!
Regarding President Obama’s speech.. I honestly don’t know what to make of it. It definitely felt like he was speaking from his heart; that’s obviously a good thing. On the flipside, it also seemed like a campaign speech and that he was still trying to win votes. Overall, it was a pretty good speech.
The benediction is where I get very upset. Seriously? “when black will not be asked to get in back”? ”when white will embrace what’s right”? This is 2009, not the 1950s. The white supremacists that exist today aren’t going to magically change their beliefs all of a sudden. Nor will the black supremacists. People have inherent prejudices that are extremely difficult to change. The majority of citizens of this great country could care less about skin color. Yes, I truly believe that. Such a bad way to end an otherwise great inaugural ceremony.
As for me..
Did I vote for President Obama? No. My opinions on too many issues differed from his.
Will I support President Obama? Absolutely. The electoral college and a majority of Americans voted him into the office of President. And with that, President Obama has earned and deserves my respect. I am sure I won’t agree with everything he does while in office. I didn’t agree with everything President Bush did while in office; I didn’t agree with everything President Clinton did. But the job of President is by far the toughest job imaginable, and I believe each President acts in accordance with that they truly believe is the right course of action.
Congratulations, President Obama. Serve this country well and in its best interest. You have my support as the President.
Author: Tom Sepper
Tom Sepper is the Chief Operating Officer for Site5. He has a beautiful wife and two daughters. He is an Apple, OSX, & iPhone/iPod fanatic.
4 Comments to “Inauguration Thoughts”
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Come on, man. Racial inequality exists and has to be addressed when you’re doing something as unbelievable as handing over the white house keys to a black man. Don’t you think it would have been odd to not mention it and pretend it doesn’t exist? On a day like that?!
You might think everything is groovy – and it is getting better all the time – but recent tests in major U.S. cities proved once again that if you and a black guy who is your equal for the job in every way both go to an interview, you are still more likely to get the job. If you and he apply for an apartment, guess what – the majority of the time they are going to give it to you. It’s easy to say no one cares about color anymore, but we don’t live in their skin. We have no idea what that world is like.
No one has to sit on the back of the bus anymore, but until other kinds of everyday inequality don’t exist anymore we have to keep talking about it. Obama becoming president doesn’t suddenly mean everyone is equal. The reason things continue to improve is because we continue to deal with the issue no matter how unpleasant it may be.
I didn’t say racial inequality didn’t exist; I’m well aware that it does. That was the basis for my comment that “People have inherent prejudices that are extremely difficult to change.”
However, I maintain my belief that everyday, regular Joe America has moved past the color barrier.
In some situations, your examples of job interviews and apartment renting I’m sure do occur. I’ve seen the exact opposite happen too.. a white man and a black man of equal qualifications both applying for a job promotion and the black man getting it.. a black college student receiving scholarship money over a white college student.
Racism exists and it’s quite embarrassing. No, I don’t know what it is like as I don’t live in a different skin color. But racism does exist against every single race, creed, nationality, etc.
My beef with the benediction isn’t necessarily that race was brought up.. it’s the manner in which it was. In order to move forward, you’ve got to think progressively. Dredging up an upsetting time in the nation’s history is not my idea of forward-thinking.
I’m just saying that it’s still an upsetting time. History has an effect on current times. You could expand “In order to move forward, you’ve got to think progressively” to mean that we also shouldn’t ever talk about slavery, or Nazi genocide. The Jews who lived through that horror show have a saying, “Never forget.” It’s important to keep talking about these things or we risk reliving them.
Marcus Garvey said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” We have to remember the good and the bad, my brother.
Remember and never forget — absolutely.
Bring it up on such a historical, progress-making event? No.