Inaugural Thoughts

It's happening right now. I'm watching on TV from home after an awesome weekend in one of the greatest cities on Earth, a city which is the seat of the democracy of this wonderful country. A city which has been celebrating for days, opening its arms to its citizens from near and far, a city that can (impossibly) simultaneously facilitate a mass gathering and put itself on lockdown.

I love it here. I love being able to step out of a metro and look around me, and see my nation's monuments to our founding fathers against the sky, always inspiring all of us to reach higher and stay true to what really matters.

Last night I went to my first Inaugural Ball. As my date and I walked to the venue, we had a spectacular view of the Capitol Dome, illuminated and covered with flags. It was quite an image with which to start the evening, and we discussed how, politics aside, democracy is the real cause for celebration today. Every four years, really every two when you think about it, America celebrates democracy's birthday by exercising our right to elect new leaders. A transition is exciting not only because of the individuals taking oaths, but the symbol they represent: an evolving, changing country that requires updating, upgrading, and acceptance of progress.

I love George W. Bush and always will. He will always be "my" president. I voted for him during college and was criticized for it by my liberal theatre friends: "Don't you want a job when you graduate????" Of course I did, but it wasn't on the stage. I knew I wanted to serve my country by working for the government. I wanted to be involved in making this country better, and I refused to be one of so many people I knew who would complain about the country for days straight but never DO anything to change it. I voted my dreams that election, and I was proud. And I am fortunate that my dreams came true. Bush 43 was my Commander in Chief when I entered civil service and he will always be my first real boss. I love and respect him for keeping my country safe for the past 8 years despite very, very bad men wanting to do us harm. Because of my work, I know things that most Americans don't know, think about, or even imagine . . . and I respect the man who has guided us the best he could through many trials and done what he felt was right (and stood up for it).

The president's job is not to provide us with everything we need to be happy. It is to preserve our freedoms so that WE can pursue what makes us happy. One of those freedoms is our safety, our life itself. Bush 43 had the cajones to stand up for that. I think Obama does too.

President Obama is not, as my parents seem to think, the anti-Christ. However, he is certainly not the Messiah, either. We simply must be realistic about what is really in this humble man's power to accomplish, and we must also accept that change will take time. January 21st is not going to be much different for us, and July 21st might not be either. But we cannot be fickle and turn our backs on our leader when we fail to receive instant gratification. Obama cited the scripture himself: "The time has come to cast off childish things."

America, if you want your change, now is the time. It is everyone's responsibility to make things better. Let's see what we're all made of.