I thought about trying to find one of him from the front but Ireally like this picture. Wow!
As I was watching the Inauguration yesterday I was wishing I had kept Ainsley home from school to watch it. I did find out that they got to see it at school, which was good but I think it might have been fun to have her with me. Abby did not watch it she watched a movie instead. I was thinking as I was watching that I was not quite six when Regan was Inaugurated and I remember watching it. I remember thinking this is something really important. I was thinking how funny it was that I would remember this. I wonder if Ainsley will remember this one, although I am sure she does not realized the significance of this particular Inauguration.
I was very moved by it all. As I watched it seemed that President Obama looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He seemed much more somber to me then most times. I am sure become President of the US must be a very overwhelming thing. I started to think that really he does have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Everyone is expecting so much from him. I worry that people are expecting to much. The are wanting him to be some sort of savior and although I like him and am hopeful it cannot be done in a short amount of time. Are we setting this man up for a fall? Have we raised him up so high there is no way to go but down? I hope not.
I also found myself a little disappointed in myself and others. I did not like President Bush. Unlike any other in my life time I could not support him. I cringed when he spoke. That is a terrible thing. I think about that now when I hear everyone telling people to give Obama a chance and get behind him even if you did not vote for him. I did not do that for George Bush so how can I expect them to do it for Obama, but I hope they will. I also was very disappointed when I heard many people boo George Bush. I did not hear that but the reports said it happened. That is terrible in this setting to boo the outgoing President. I do not remember this but I also heard that after his first election he could not even get out of the car to walk in the parade because people were throwing eggs at the car. First of all if this is true then how good is the Secret Service but also how terrible that we, as a country, can be so mean spirited. On the other hand how great that we can live in a country and boo our President without the fear of death.
p.s. I was also thinking about my cousin who was probably freezing to death in that crowd of people but I am sure it was worth it.
2 comments:
As the cousin who was out in that sea of people freezing (not quite freezing but, decidedly chilly)....it was AMAZING! I wish it was an experience that everyone could have had. I'm a big dork and like elections and Inaugurations regardless and follow them like a stalker. So, I was guaranteed to enjoy myself at this inauguration regardless of anything else. But, here's why it was such an amazing experience...
There were more people there than I can even try to explain. As you walked down the streets (litearlly ANY street) there were mobs of people everywhere. They were pouring out of every street and alley like rates. It was unreal.
The lines to get into the mall and the parade route were essentially uncontrolled masses. There was a lot of police presence however, none of them knew anything. They couldn't help people find their way or tell them where they should go or where they should be if they have tickets. On top of that some of the gates just closed because the mobs were so big they were afriad they would get out of control.
But, despite all that....despite the fact that everyone was tired, that it was a diverse crowd from literally all over the world, despite that it was unctrolled and the flow of information was poor, despite all that frustration...EVERYONE was so nice. There was not one arrest. Which I just think is a miracle. With that big of a mass of people in that situation I can't believe that they didn't make any arrests.
At one point we got stuck in a pack of people and were there were two lines trying to merge and one group of peole trying to get through to the other side of them. It sucked essentilly being stuck in a mass of people with no way out but, not one bad word was said by anyone. People were joking and making the best of it and trying to help each other out. That's just one example but, there were millions of them. People giving up their seats for those that looked like they needed it more than them, returning dropped items to people, and just looking out for the people that were stuck in the mob of people next to you. With the risk of sounding dramatic...it renewed my faith in the human race.
There's a million things I'll take with me from the experience but, that is probably the thing that hit me the most outside of the just the other obvious meaning of the even in general...
I wish President Obama luck - it appears that he is really going to need it!
One good thing I can say about President Bush is that after 9/11, there were no more attacks here. I hope Obama doesn't go too soft. He is making me a little nervous on that front.....
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