This inauguration means several things to me for it is an important and significant event. It is indeed a watershed, a monumental celebration and symbol of America’s greatness. This inauguration comes at a time where we find ourselves in the midst of a crushing national debt and an unstable world. All Americans, just like me are reminded in our hearts that we are witnessing a unique time in our nation’s history, the least being, the swearing in of the first African American President who ran among other things, a campaign that transcended the politics of race.
This inauguration means to me and confirms that the sacrifice of several generations of leaders in their fight for equal rights under the law, for all citizens in this country, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson, was not in vain. This inauguration means to me that we are one people, one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. This inauguration will have the largest gathering of diverse people that our country has ever experienced since its independence from Great Britain in 1776.
This inauguration means to me that we Americans, will be sending a powerful signal to the outside world that we view our diversity as a source of strength, and that we are a country in which people from all corners of the globe are represented here to become part of one nation. E-pluribus Unum: Out of many one nation.
For me and many others, this inauguration means to me, the culmination of the dynamic and bold approach in enlisting the masses in a massive grassroots campaign to elect a new President who has been the embodiment of two strong pillars: righteousness and justice.
No other candidate in recent memory, running for President conducted themselves in such a gentle and positive manner embracing the ‘fruits of the spirit’ than Barack Obama. This inauguration means to me the celebration of a candidate who among other things, ran a disciplined campaign and never lost his composure. It is indeed noteworthy to point out that there is an ancient scriptural saying by a Jewish King who was known for his infinite wisdom and he said that “a person who can control his temper or keep their cool when the heat is on, is better than a four star general that can conquer a city.” This inauguration means to me, that the new occupant in the White House will not subscribe to business as usual and that a complete metamorphosis in the way our leaders respond to the needs of the people has already began to take shape.
For me, and for many others, this inauguration will be self evident to everyone in our country regardless of race or gender that change has finally come for the good of the country. It will mean for me a clarion call for all of us as Americans, to stand together in pulling our nation out of the pit and the miry clay and setting us up once again on a high rock. Most notably, this inauguration means to me the validation of our system of government: indeed the expression of our freedom and democracy as a lighthouse on a sea of an increasingly darkened world were war and peace are at loggerheads with each other from the Middle East to Central Africa.
Above all, this inauguration means to me the crowning of a presidential candidate who played by the rules of decency, honesty and practiced the politics of integrity. Barack Obama embodied the politics of inclusion rather than division. Without a doubt, this inauguration means to me that a new political climate is been birth in our nation’s capital where there will be a new tone in Washington that embraces dialogue rather than acrimony among our leaders. This inauguration means to me that the touch will be passed to a new generation of leaders who symbolize the aspirations and dreams of the American people in the 21st century.
In addition, this inauguration is about the Audacity of Hope, how a young man who rose from humble beginnings to become the leader of the free world by discovering his true purpose while trying to solve the problems of others. This inauguration means to you and I that we have elected a leader who will take our voice into the corridors of power in Washington and bring about bold fundamental change.
In a nutshell, this inauguration means to me that there will be a glimmer of hope to those who are living a life of hopelessness; a sense of destiny to those who live in a live of poverty and destitution; a leader in the oval office who wouldn’t ignore the plight of the voiceless. This inauguration means to me, the embodiment of our core beliefs that nothing is impossible if we work together for the good of the American people. In summary, this inauguration means to me that a government of the people, by the people and for the people embedded in our constitution by our founding fathers but later ignored by successful leaders, has been reborn.
Finally, this inauguration means so much to me albeit to many others too because our great nation will be swearing in, a New President who was voted into office by all manner of people in a landslide election including the vote of a citizen whose life spanned three centuries because he believed in us and reminded us all that ‘Yes we can’.
Written and produced by John Bakhtiar.