There are good and bad things about getting older. One characteristic that can go either way is the ability to take most things in stride. We've seen it all before somewhere.
Except for days like yesterday. This was something we had never seen before. Frankly, there were hundreds of thousands of people who didn't believe it ever would happen. Sadly, there were also thousands who believe it never should have ... and their reasoning had little to do with political persuasion.
Watching the inaugural yesterday was satisfying and gratifying.
It was satisfying because, for the first time in a long while, you got the feeling the majority of the country really wants the new president to do well.
It was gratifying because something that has long been spoken as an ideal came to pass. I read where a young African-American woman was asked why she brought her five-year old daughter to watch the festivities yesterday. She answered, "Because now she will know all things are possible."
It was an eloquent but simple answer.
There is no way to know how this president will do. The problems are many and the solutions are not simple.
But a democracy needs to have hope to flourish. We need to be able to have the ability to remain positive in the time of crisis. The naysayers and nitpickers will have their chance to object and complain about the new president's proposed solutions to the various crises the country will face. And there will be occasions when their objections have merit and should be seriously considered.
But yesterday was not their day. Some tried but they looked silly doing so. Deep down inside, I think they knew it.
No, yesterday was a day we needed. It was a day when you realized you can really disagree with someone and not be considered a traitor or an enemy of the state. It was a day when the sun shone brightly and a badly scarred country relaxed a bit. It was a say that never had occurred before and never will again. There is only one first date and this was it.
I emailed a female friend of mine that I thought the day will also come in her lifetime when we will elect a female president, thus knocking down another invisible barrier. It will happen because this truly is a country where anything is possible.
Bit that's another dream for another day. For now, we have yesterday, a day that should have made every American proud.
The memory will never go away. It was nice while it lasted.
However, now it's time to get to work.
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2 comments:
Well said. And for my generation, we have finally seen an inaugural day that excites like no other - much as I have heard stories of the Kennedy administration's first day.
Yesterday was a very special day, indeed. I felt very lucky that I had the flexibility to have the day's activities going on in the background all day while I worked.
Glad you saw it. Reminded me of the day John Glenn orbited the earth. Our third grade teacher made us watch it because, she said, you will never see anything like it again.
There were better rocket stories later. But this was the first one that TV even peeked at. And I have never forgotten the magic behind the view of that rocket out of sight of the cameras.
The other day had more importance, of course. In its own way, however, it was just as majestic.
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