System 13

After watching the inaugural speech yesterday by Obama, I think that, in time, if he follows through with what he has promised, I will once again have some pride in being American. The past 8 years, and in particular, the last 4, have had me  feeling quite self conscious when, talking to people on the internet, I’ve had to admit that, indeed, I’m American. No, I didn’t vote for the mad man, but he was still my President for 8 years, and boy, what a number he did on us. And according to the news this morning, he still won’t own up to dragging the country through the mud. There was a quote from him, saying something like, when he returned to Texas, he’d look in the mirror and not be ashamed. In other words, he’s still holding on desperately to the idea that his actions were right. At least that village in Texas finally has their idiot back, I suppose.

Enough about Bush, though. He’s gone, and at this point, I couldn’t care less what he does. I guess I already have some pride back, due to the fact that America really did vote a black man into office. Considering that people fought for blacks to use “white” water fountains in the ’50s and ’60s, go to “white” schools, sit in the “white” seats of buses, it’s still pretty amazing to me that we voted him in a mere 50 years later. Much more time has been taken in history for much smaller advances.

While I know that the naysayers could still be right – that he’s a rock star and that he will end up being all talk – he at least has the ability in his speeches to make me feel like he’s going to pull through. Unlike most political speeches, I actually want to listen to his, to hear what he has to say and, perhaps more importantly, how he says it. The guy has an air to him that, at least for me (and apparently millions of others), inspires confidence. I hope that that air can be seen by people around the world, and that America regains its position of respect which it once had, before rampaging off into Iraq, before setting up Gitmo, and before, basically, we made ourselves look like fools.

Finally, I don’t think a post regarding yesterday’s event would be complete without a link to the inaugural address. So, if you’ve not yet watched it, here you are; it’s worth your time.

Well done, America.

Update: This picture sums up my feelings quite well.