Celebration of Democracy

Today is historic in so many different reasons. First and foremost being that we (the nation) is going to swear in the 44th President of The United States. Oh and by the way, the new President is a man of color. Today doesn’t have anything to do with the party you are affiliated with or the whether or not you happy with the outcome of the election. Today is another major step in the progress of this country and the growth of democracy. Barack Obama will take the oath today and he will soon feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even though George W. Bush is currently not very popular, I feel that he will go down as one of the best presidents in history. In years to come, his true legacy is going to be realized and people are going to understand that he didn’t go to war because he loves to endanger his troops and other civilians, but he went to war to uphold and maintain the stability of the US and the world. Also, people will realize that the current economic turmoil in the US was not caused by George W. Bush but due to mistakes made by the Democratic congress.

I could go on about those issues, but today is not the day for that. Today is history in the making and this really transcends politics. In talking with Meg’s grandmother last night over dinner, she said she is amazed to see the events of this weekend and what will happen today. She is 92 years old and she said she never, ever thought she would see the day that an African American would be sworn in as President. Since I am considerably younger, I knew the day was coming, but it is still pretty amazing. The crowds in Washington D.C. are incredible as millions wants to be a part of this historic day. Among the millions in D.C. is my oldest nephew, Sam. He is part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference and has been in D.C. since Saturday. He has been to receptions, conferences with speakers like Colin Powel, Al Gore and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Also, he will be on the parade route and at the actual Inauguration. Then he will be attending the black tie inaugural ball on Tuesday night. This will be quite an amazing experience for him and a great reward for the efforts he has put in at school and with the mock congress where he was elected Speaker of the House last summer.The events of this weekend and of today are overwhelming and perhaps a little over the top. But with such a huge day in history, I can’t really blame anyone. Even if you don’t agree with the policies and views of the new President, we need to respect the office and the duties of the President. I hope he becomes the best President ever, but that is yet to be determined. I am quite scared of some of his views and not real sure America understands what they have gotten themselves into, but if he does indeed bring change, that might not be a bad thing. We will have to wait and see how things go in the future, but for today, lets just embrace the fact that we now have an African American in the oval office. I am proud to be an American (no, I am not going into the chorus of the Lee Greenwood song) and I am proud of the Democracy that we have in place. Today we should celbrate our freedoms and our Democracy!

God Bless the USA!