'We Are All the Same' by Sam Martin

(Thanks to Erik L. for sharing this. Erik describes it: "A music video from my friend Sam Martin -- reflects, in new ways and new words, the mood of the country and this rising generation's aspiration to find common ground in a world defined by our differences.")

A Time to Turn to Each Other

So I have posted enough videos and pictures and other people’s words. Time to post some of my own thoughts.

It is the end of Inauguration Day. I did not join in the packed Metro, the huddling crowd, the lines waiting in the frigid cold of a January day in Washington, D.C., for a glimpse of our new president. (Why, again, isn’t Inauguration in June?) But I watched the day’s events on television with my 12-year-old daughter (who wasn’t terribly disappointed not to be standing in the cold, although I was). Nevertheless, there was not much that we missed, thanks to the extensive media coverage.

And while I watched, I (what else does this generation do?) perused the reactions of friends on Facebook. One asked whether, in our lifetime, there had been a more polarizing event. (Apparently, in the coffeehouse where he works, there were rather pointed reactions when the TV was turned on to the inauguration.) Even now, the debates continue (“How could Michelle choose that dress??” and “Oh, she looked lovely in white!”) … but seriously. One person replied to that question that the Bush 2000 inauguration could, arguably, be deemed more polarizing, considering the closeness of that contest with Al Gore. No doubt our nation is still strongly divided politically.

Television commentators observed today how the city (excuse me, I’m being presumptuous to beyond-the-beltway dwellers—“the city” being D.C.) has already changed in tone, socially speaking. It is more upbeat, and people are intermingling outside their usual circles, whereas in the last administration people did not put aside differences after hours—there was always a schism, even at dinner. I hope this is not a short-lived trend.

I have often liked to say that my generation (X) knocked down the walls in the first place. Sure, much can be said about Gen Y’s contributions to a changed culture, but no, we Xers got the ball rolling, small cohort though we are. We are about getting past differences (while many of us still hold on to our convictions) in order to get good work done. I believe that we are the generation of joining together, not tearing apart, and that Obama’s election is the culmination of that pursuit.

In his benediction at the end of the swearing-in ceremony, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery prayed, “And while we have sown the seeds of greed—the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.”

I loved that sentiment, of turning “to each other and not on each other.”

Yes, there will be partisanship among politicians, as is the nature, but, I believe, there will be more true “reaching across the aisle.” And as I said to a friend, citizens do not need to be beholden to any party. Politics is a part of life, a part of changing culture. Even Obama, in a backstage interview with ABC at the Neighborhood Ball, noted that the government will turn its wheels and do its work, but real change will come in the neighborhoods, the communities, where people reach out to one another and help each other. Right on.

I like to pretend I am such a cynic. I really am pessimistic about so much. Truly I am (grumble, growl). But my idealistic nature always outs me by rearing its precious head. So indulge me a bit here.

My hope is that those who revel in this day will not be vilified. And those who are disappointed will not be the object of schadenfreude. We are all in this experiment together.

We need to remember who Obama is and, more importantly, who he is not. We cannot put ostentatious expectations upon him, believing we will wake up next month to a perfect world. He is simply a man, with a new job. He is the POTUS, not God, not Santa. He even reminded us of this inevitable fact on Sunday at the “We Are One” concert, when he said, “I won’t pretend that meeting … these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our fundamental resolve as a nation.”

So we cannot place unrealistic expectations upon this one man, and in the same way, we cannot later put undue blame upon him. Let no one sneer when the harder times he said will come do come. As I said, he is simply the president—he is not a monarch who has all power in his hands. The work ahead is not his alone. It is all of ours: the executive, judicial, and legislative branches; the states, as well as the federal governments; and communities, neighborhoods, and individuals. (Please cut up your charge cards now.)

We should marvel that anyone would want to be president in this volatile and depressing climate—what with the impossibly difficult work ahead, and the overly high expectations people in need have of a new president. This is not the most auspicious time for any president, let alone a historically significant one. But again, he is one man, who is part of a long process in this American experiment. We really need to remember that. Obama does.

Some critics complain about the atmosphere of today, that it’s too upbeat. They sneer, Wait until four years from now, when Obama makes all his mistakes. To refer back to what he said in that interview during the Neighborhood Ball, the good work to be done is not for him alone, not for government to accomplish, but for citizens within their own communities.

What is notable about Obama’s election, is how, unlike other candidates I can remember, he has instilled hope, even in those who disagree with him. And that hope spurs people to action. And I believe, four years from now we will see change—not brought about by Obama, so much as by individual Americans pulling themselves up and then helping their neighbors.

And so, this Inauguration Day is a day of thanksgiving for a man and his God who reminded us of our collective strength as a people.

As we huddle together in the cold of the difficult days to come, let’s be busy in bringing about “the change” ourselves. Turning to each other, and not on each other, during these next four years will make us stronger.

Let’s get to work.

America's Song

Just Perfect: a brilliant, crazy Irishman at the American inaugural

(H/T @u2)

And so it ends...

The entertainment value of this administration will be missed. (Thanks to Heather D. for the vid link.)

Presidential

Formidable is the word that came to mind.

Just read...

Yes. Simply yes.

I shut my eyes and breathed in the smell of the soft skin of Fred's neck, the soft fleshy part underneath the long curls at the back of his head that I can't bear to cut because they represent the last vestiges of his babyhood. He giggled, because it tickled, but allowed me my moment of wistfulness. He smelled of a sweet blend of clean pajamas, soap, and the unsullied pureness of recently washed toddler, and I felt myself melt. Waves of nostalgia for the baby he will never be again swept over me, and for a moment I thought I might cry. Sometimes it is a question of getting through the days, but then from nowhere come those moments that you want to preserve forever. (From Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill)

Helping the Poor

What he said.

And what he said too.