Barack Obama's inauguration today was truly a remarkable thing. No one can deny that it was a day that will forever go down in the history of not only America, but also the world. At a time when it seems that the world is at its most fragile, looking the darkest it has been for a long time, and when animosity runs deep through the veins of so many people, today it just felt like the world (well, most of it) came together.
On the news today, they kept showing people everywhere watching along as Obama became the 44th President. They showed people in the small village in Kenya, where his father was from, sitting in front of a screen, and they showed children sitting in a classroom in Indonesia, where he spent a part of his childhood, also watching along as he took the Oath of Office. The world was engaged and the world is excited that change came to America today, and it was phenomenal to be around to see it.
There is not much good that we hear about in the world today. Every day we turn on the news and we find war, we find death, we find sickness and disease and corruption and all other things that plague some of the most far reaching corners of the world. It tends to get overwhelming at times and it is disappointing for those of us who are optimistic in humanity and in the potential of the world. We sometimes feel that the world has suddenly lost its bearings, lost sense of its ideals, and lost its identity, and is spiraling into this midst of confusion, chaos and intolerance. It is difficult to think about how much the world has changed in the last few years, and it is becoming increasingly challenging to see change on the horizon.
I don't want to sound cliche, but today was saw a glimpse of that change. It is not solidified yet, and it is not certain, but you cannot deny that hope is out there. Today was great because today, when you turned on the news on the tv or radio, you saw only good. You saw the people of the world coming together (FINALLY!) , you saw the culmination of the civil rights movement, and you saw an incredible man rise to a challenge in a position that very few people would actually want. Obama is an amazing person, and after today, it is difficult for anyone, even the staunch skeptics, to deny this.
Many believe that this is too much hype and too much celebrity and that the world is simply getting their hopes up, and perhaps we are setting ourselves up for disappointment, who knows? I do have a few things to say to those who believe this though.
Hope is a notion that is more powerful than people give it credit for. Hope is something that people can rely on to get them through even the darkest of times, and when it is offered, it must be savoured and treasured. Hope is what Obama seems to have offered to so many people in the world today. To the Black population of America, he has showed that the Civil Rights movement worked, and has achieved something at the end of a process to which so many have contributed with their tears and with their blood. To everyone else in the world who can identify a form of hatred in the world today, he has also given the hope that we need in order to believe that any hatred can be overcome. Fine, it took a long time, but it happened. So many African Americans were asked today, "did you ever think that you would see a Black man elected President in your lifetime?" Though their responses differed (some said yes, most said 'never') the fact that it has happened should give hope to anyone who finds barriers in their lives today that seem difficult to overcome. With time, perseverence, belief, and faith anything can be achieved. That was proven today on the steps of the Capitol.
Hope is also a powerful tool because even if it is just hype, and you don't want to fall for something that may end up in disappointment, so what? The daily occurrences of the world do not give us much to be hopeful for, and with constantly bleak surroundings why not find that spot of blue in a grey sky and hold onto it. It can lift you up out of the wilderness that the world seems to have become, and can show you that there are those who want good, and that there are so many in this world who personify the greatness that we hope to find when we open up the newspaper in the morning or turn on the news when we get home from work.
Barack Obama today symbolized that hope, and he knows the sort of world that he is inheriting. His brilliant speech today was sombre and down to earth, and it made me realize that he is already feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, something that he will not shed for at least the next 4 years. What he did though was unique and special and is the reason why I had tears in my eyes throughout the days events. He said the word "I" only three times in his speech. He knows that the task he has taken on cannot be tackled alone, and so whenever he said the word "we" or "us" he was asking for the assistance of not only the American people, but of the people everywhere. He called out to our core instincts and ideals, and the principles he evoked were those that we all hope to find in our fellow humans, and that is why we must not be disappointed if the next four years do not deliver everything we think they can, or everything Obama said they would. We must act for ourselves as well, and help ensure that the hope that was created and felt in every corner of the world today was created not just because we were told to hope by a great man on a great day, but because we felt it, embraced it, and fostered its growth to ensure greatness for our collective future.
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