My Thoughts On The Inauguration of Our 44th President

Today, our nation celebrated, as we do every four years, the Inauguration of a new Commander In Chief. It is a time honored tradition, and each incoming President is due his day of celebration, as are ALL Americans. 

We homeschool our daughter, and as part of our history lesson today I allowed her to watch the Inauguration of our 44th President, as I explained the historical nature of the event itself, and the historical significance of this particular Inauguration. Let me be clear: I do recognize that, for black Americans, this was an important day in their history as a people, as well as in the history of our great nation. It was disheartening, however, to have to explain to my ten year old why, first, President George W. Bush was openly mocked and belittled, not only in some remarks that were made at the Inauguration, but by commentators on several of the various major networks. Secondly, it was even more disheartening to have to explain to my ten year old why, when her father and I have always taught her that it matters not what the color of your skin is, only the content of your character as a person, the "preacher" at the end of the main event proceeded to make racist comments in a prayer about white people...insinuating that we are the ones who need to make it right. So, at a time when I truly believed this country had moved past racism, at a time when as many white people as black cast their votes to put this man of mixed race into the oval office....it is the black man who continues the racism. Today was proof...a "color free" society is not what they wish to have. That became abundantly clear as I watched, and it saddens me deeply. 

I tuned in today truly looking for something on which I could comment positively. The left lectures us that we should suddenly find unity, when all they have done (except for a brief period of time after 9/11) is work to destroy the unity of our country for the last eight years. I felt that since today was a day for our new President to celebrate, I would try-in the spirit of celebration-to find something positive to say. I thought the Obama ladies looked quite lovely. The prayer by Rick Warren was absolutely fantastic, and although I've heard much better renditions of "My Country Tis Of Thee", I thought Aretha Franklin did a good job. I was impressed that Joe Biden took his oath like an old pro, and was surprised when Obama had a difficult time, although I can't imagine how nervous one would be in his position, so it was completely understandable. I thought Obama's speech had moments that sounded great, but the speech overall contradicted itself as, on one hand, he talked about how the people of America are what makes America great and how we will be the ones to reach within ourselves and find what we need to get through the hard times that lay ahead, and yet on the other hand, he spoke at length of what Government will do to solve our problems. As a whole, it was to me a very disappointing speech, although, as someone put it yesterday, he could have read a paragraph from the back of a cereal box and it wouldn't have mattered to the crowd. I would have walked away from the event with mixed feelings, truly liked parts of it and others, not so much....until Rev. Joseph Lowry got up to give the benediction. I was truly enjoying his prayer, and then he just had to throw the racism in there! What is it about these pastors who preach black liberation theology, and having to gain attention by seeing how much controversy they can stir up? If I were Barack Obama, I would begin to think that maybe they didn't have my best interest at heart, since seemingly every time one of them opens his mouth, out of it spews hatred of the white man. 

So, overall, after watching an inauguration that I truly decided to watch to find something good, I come away realizing that liberal democrats want no part of unity. I see how our current President is treated by those with little or no class, both from the democratic party and in the mainstream media, and I realize that our world has become a very different place, and today empowered those on the left who have so much hatred toward what is right and good and true. 

I can promise this: I will pray for this President, as I have every President for most of my life, every day of his term. Do I wish him success? Not in the policies he promises to implement, no. To do so would be to turn my back on my own principles. I hope that, once he begins his term as Commander In Chief, he will begin to view the world much as President Bush viewed it for the last eight years--through the eyes of one who wishes to protect this nation at all costs. I hope that once he begins to see through the eyes of those who've come before him, he will soon realize that many of the things he promises to do will do more harm than good to this nation, and that it will rock him to his core.  I will continue to look for things that I can support in this administration, and where I disagree, I will voice it. You see,  as I explained in tears this morning to my daughter, that's the beauty of freedom. We live in a nation who embraces people from every walk of life, every nation, every creed...and we have the freedom to vote, and every four years, we get a do-over if we don't like how things turned out this time around! Meanwhile, we need to do some soul searching. We need to educate ourselves on those principles in which we believe, study what works, and what doesn't work. We need to learn to see for ourselves, and in the end, no matter who our President is, we are better for it. 

In closing, I'd like to say that one of the most moving parts of the day for me was when President Bush and Laura departed aboard Marine One. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to walk in their shoes for these last eight years, seven of them in particular after 9/11. I can only imagine that President Bush must have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders from that moment on, and while I have not always agreed with every domestic policy he brought to the table, I have ALWAYS felt that he did everything within his power to make sure my family and your family were able to lay our heads down to sleep in safety each night. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the Bush daughters to hear so many horrible things said about their parents, day in and day out, for so many years. Yet, through it all, President Bush has served with honor and integrity, with dignity, with his faith as his guide, and Laura was one of the most gracious, honorable, and classy First Ladies this nation has ever known. I admire that, and I know without a doubt that one day, when the classified materials are de-classified, when the truth is really known, President Bush will go down in history as one of the greatest Presidents this nation has ever known.