Inauguration and Love

I awoke and prepared to watch history being made on The Mall in D.C.. As my steel-cut oatmeal simmered on the stove, there were shots of the limo parade, crowds, dignitary after dignitary. I'm channel surfing and land on NBC since their feed looks the least grainy. But then I think I hear Brain Williams or is it Tom Brokaw's voiceover talking about Reggie Love, sharpie markers, and Duke basketball while the camera is on some other black guy? Now I may not know the guy on the TV screne but I know it isn't Reggie Love. Ah, the voice corrects the mistake. Guess all young, athletic black guys look the same to white NBC news anchors. For edification, the picture above is of Reggie Love with my nephew, John, and the Jefferson Jackson dinner last year; my nephew is the white kid; Reggie is the sexy guy leaning down next to him.

The Obama family looks beautiful. Those girls are truly poised and refined at such a young age, likely due to some amazing parenting and grandparenting. Michelle was radiant in an elegant and gold textured lichen-yellow-green coat and matching dress with a gold neck accent of modern filigree. Mossy green leather gloves and shoes made for a retro sense of classic style. Personally I found it perfect and a HUGE improvement over the black & red widow spider things she wore on election night. I would have loved to see her try a bold move and wear a hat ... but that could have resulted in the weird rhinestone bow thing Aretha Franklin had going on. Yikes. Aretha wasn't really connecting with her music well, although her voice is always powerful and full of range. Her head looked like a children's book helicopter waiting for take-off.

Sen. Feinstein kept things moving. Rev. Dr. Rick Warren didn't slam gays or lesbians but prayed way too long. A jew (Itzhak Perlman), an Asian (Yo-Yo Ma), a black (Anthony McGill) and a woman (Gabriela Montero) proved that diversity can produce some very fine and fabulous music. John Williams, however, showed he could rip off Lord of The Dance only fairly well. Biden recited his oath fairly well, looking good along with his wife. Dang, he had a BIG bible. Obama only tripped over the word 'faithfully,' adding it the end of one verse in his oath. CORRECTION: It was Justice Roberts who flubbed his lines! Why did I doubt the O? I believe they used Lincoln's bible for the President. My favorite parts included: 

"...know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

and, of course, given my love of science and all things environmental - 

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

Back to criticizing the ceremony ...

Yikes! Whatever Elizabeth Alexander is reading isn't very poetic. Luckily after Obama's inauguration speech, there was Rev. Dr. Lowery! He poetically wove into his benediction interpretations of biblical verses and lines from The Negro National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, ending with a rhythmic sounding of "....help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right." He ended with, "Let all who do justice and love mercy say amen." Amen to that!

I noticed lots of religious references in today's ceremony. Obama referred to ""Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers." Why the strange label? Well, at least he recognized non-religious citizens. I, however, think I am a believer ... in America, in democracy, in humanity, and in hope. If you have to label me, just call me non-superstitious. That might freak the religious folks out so how about non-theistic? I just don't get all this connection with 'belief' when that word really isn't put into proper context when describing the existence or non-existence of a deity or deities. Belief often refers to 1. the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another, or 2. mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something. I recognize that 'belief' has been used by theist to reflect their devotion to god(s) but to label non-religious folks as non-believers is a little judgmental and broad for my philosophical leanings.

Yes, today was a celebratory day, one filled with hope and accomplishments. I'd like to end with a quote Anu Garg published with Wordsmith.org (they're highlighting words from Obama's published works this week) -  setting a knew challenge to our country "Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We've come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman." I'm waiting for that day. Amen.