The Inauguration of Barack Obama
posted by Barter Books @ 3:23pm, Saturday 24 January 2009.
Along with what appeared to be the rest of the known world, Stuart and I spent January 20th thinking about, waiting for, watching and listening to, listening to and cheering for, then cheering again for and saying Good Night to, Good Night and God bless to, Barack Obama.
I kept trying to think how often I had actually witnessed in real time, if only on tv, a major historical event in
What I didn’t let myself count: assassinations (eg, Kennedy) or catastrophes (eg, 9/11).
This was because January 20th was about feeling good about America and being American all over again and for all kinds of reasons, some even new. (Bet you think by 'new', I mean race - well, don’t you? Well, you're wrong. I just mean that, too.)
Anyway, I could think of only one other such historic event and that one, forty years ago: the moon landing. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” Neil Armstrong had said. (Oh, all right, so he forgot to put in the word 'a' in front of 'man', we know what he meant!). And we all felt, not just Americans, that what he said was true – a clear case of man’s reach exceeding his grasp. Until he did it.
And now, with the inauguration of Barack Obama, another clear case of a man’s reach exceeding what was, by all normal expectations, his grasp. Until he did it.
Anyway, here is what has stayed with me about January 20th, old news as it is by now, five whole days. Wonder how it would tally with what has stayed with you?
… Frustration that I had to miss out on so much, the BBC doing the best they could with TV coverage - only two hours of the inauguration ceremony, that's all, no more than that except for the 5 o’clock, then the 10 o’clock, news. So that I missed the parade, missed the walkabout, missed the Inaugural balls, I could have wept. Barack dancing with Michelle, to die for! (Couldn’t I have seen more on SKY? Probably, if we had SKY. Don’t. Stuart hates Murdoch.)
… Missing other Americans to share it with. (Telephone calls and emails helped, but it wasn’t the same.)
… Relief the moment I turned on the television that the weather in
… Awe at the sight of all those vast numbers of people filling the mall (rhymes with ‘pal’ not ‘fall’ in BBC speak, think I should tell them?) with half of me wanting to be there with everybody else, while the other half was looking at them turning blue with the cold and thinking maybe it was OK to be here inside instead?
… Seeing the parade of past presidents and their wives … George Bush the Elder having a hard time walking (hard to watch him trying, too - old age is hard) …Jimmy Carter, that trier … the Clintons, so clever, so slick … and then George Bush the Younger with Laura Bush (no, not stylish, but I think she looked lovely, is lovely; I can’t imagine what she’s been through, either, with her husband pilloried on a daily basis however merited, how would you have handled it?)
… Then those captivating little girls, Malia and Sasha - suddenly the most famous two sisters on the planet and I bet brilliant role-models-to-be for
… Aretha Franklin singing ‘My Country Tis of Thee’ with Obama listening, eyes closed, head back, soooo cool. (Loved the hat, too, Aretha, and don’t let anybody tell you different – it was right up there with some of the best of the
… the lovely little outdoor concert, John Williams’ ‘Air and Simple Gifts’. (If only I could have stopped worrying about how cold the musicians’ fingers must have been, poor Yo-Yo, poor Itzhak, poor Anthony. At least Gabriela Montero had on gloves, albeit fingerless.)
… The swearing in, using the Lincoln Bible (brilliant idea - as close to a sacred object as we’ve got in
… Obama’s address (I must concentrate here, get this right): intelligent summing up of who we are (mixed race, mixed religions, nonbelievers, too); where we are (hard times) not made easier by past mistakes (worse times), where we want to go (better times). And what we have to do (take personal responsibility) and the rest of the world has to do (hold out hands, forget clenched fists) to get there.
But, no, the speech was not inspiring. We didn't go silent at times, forgetting even ourselves, in the way people do when they hear something beautiful. We didn't come away quoting a single line. But does it matter? It does not. What Obama did, does, is talk to us as equals. As if he's not gunning already for our vote in the next election. Brilliant.
… Elizabeth Alexander’s poem, on the other hand, oh dear, I'm afraid that didn’t work at all for me.( “Clunky”, said Stuart.) Another missed opportunity and by a super poet for what we all did want, admit it!, that memorable line to hang on to forever, c'mon! Still, a treat to have this new tradition (is that a contradiction in terms?) - a poem for the occasion - restored.
… The seeing-off of George and Laura Bush into this great green helicopter, with the Obamas and the Bidens waving Goodbye to them for all the world as if they were two children going off to summer camp.
… Michelle Obama’s yellow dress, no, sorry, I'm afraid that didn’t work for me either. All the more as she has such style, I wanted it to be a wow. But, ah, Michelle, I who like Barack Obama all the better for liking you, that fairy-tale-for-grown-ups white dress at the Inaugural Ball (thank you, YouTube): perfect.
What a day.
It has been a long wait for a President that so many of us could feel excited about and at so many levels. (Just for starters, as someone wrote about the election, the miracle isn’t just that Americans voted for a black man but that they also voted for an unapologetic intellectual). But a great leader - even just the potential, if not the realization - doesn’t come often. Ask almost any country you can think of – ask
Comments
I adore this post! It almost brought tears to my eyes (more than 5 days later no less)! I'm sending you a link to my blog which has a number of little things posted about the inauguration and Obama. www.wecouldbe.com .
I can't tell you how nice it is to read your words knowing you live in another country now. Imagine! An American not being embarrassed! Oh heck, it's beyond that isn't it? The world over, it's just about being hopeful. And that is a beautiful thing!
Thanks again for the nice reminder!
Jen - 12:05pm, Thursday 5 February 2009.
Opps! Here's a better link.. directly to the posts about the election and the inauguration:
http://www.wecouldbe.com/tag/politics/
enjoy!
Jen - 12:10pm, Thursday 5 February 2009.
Love the blog, Mary. I can just hear you speaking. Keep it up!
barbara - 4:09pm, Thursday 5 February 2009.
Reading your blog was about as much fun as a Cancer diagnosis.
Rob - 7:11pm, Thursday 10 September 2009.
On second thought perhaps my above comment was wrong, having now reflected and given the subject further consideration. So, lets just say, your blog was the written equivalent of sailing down a huge sewer inlet, only to then find oneself losing all power, and slumping to the deck in a state of desperation, driven in no small part by a desperate need to escape the sight of massive bobbing turds floating past the doomed vessel. Then by some miracle of God like proportion the engine suddenly fires back to life. Scrambling to one s feet our sailor (the blog reader) see s a tiny flicker of light, hope returns, the heart pumps with wave after wave of euphoria, I am going to survive this trip to hell, the end is within sight, and the light is both blinding and uplifting, our sailor has won the day, and its terrible end is brought mercifully to its close with the last full stop in your blog. Post Scriptum..... No offence !
Rob - 8:14pm, Thursday 10 September 2009.
Rob, you are an annoying little man....Just loved this blog about our proud America, we are doing the best we can at the moment, things being as they are. Trying to get a new start. Keep up the great blogging. Yea, England, homeland of my ancestors!
Debbie - 5:40am, Thursday 17 September 2009.
"And don't listen when they tell you not to get your hopes up too high."
One should have listened. Obama has executed on virtually nothing. What marketing and hype! And it's been over a year. Obama is not leading his own party and few leaders in the world (least of all China or Russia) respect him much. The US can scarcely afford another failed presidency, but it very well could happen.
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