My heart is filled with joy, and I have a slight tickle in the back end of my throat. This week has marked an amazing step in the right direction for history. I will shout it from the rooftops, Oh Happy day; we are free at last free at last! Monday marked a day of tribute to Martin Luther King Jr, and the remarkable changes that have since past in the civil rights movement. What a wonderful joyous day, and then to have the first Black President to be sworn into office the next. 
I will forever remember what I was doing the exact moment when Barack took that sacred oath. My company has a tendency to block video footage and certain websites. All I wanted to do was watch the inauguration though! I was able to get to a point on CNN, where it authorized it, however there was a wait list! I mean seriously?! Get with technology CNN! So I was getting frantic and decided to try out MSNBC. Thank somebody cause it pulled it up right away! I was able to get live feed right as the orchestra played before he took the oath. Since my office has been so quiet, I couldn’t really turn up the sound on my laptop, but I say him raise his right arm, and that was good enough for me! I got through about half of the inauguration address when my computer blocked everything (THANK YOU I.T. Department!).
At which point CNN had already published the address, and I had to fight back the tears from streaming down my face. What an amazing person! In my mind I feel that Obama has accomplished more since November 5th alone, than *wonderful* Bush did in his last two years in office. I only hope that he will someday be held accountable for all of the amazing things he did…
To be honest, the entire address was beautiful and from the heart, but here are a few pieces that really touched me:
"That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
I think my favorite part is, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” How powerful and amazing! FINALLY someone who wants in my opinion a different option than war all the time! I know that if we all just work together, we can bring America up again, and realize how truly good we have it, and lend a helping hand things will be good again! I feel that because of greed and pure stupidity we got ourselves into this mess, and there is only one way to make it right again.
I look forward to coming years, and see how we as a nation can build ourselves up again. I am excited for these new challenges and see what path we will take. I know that we made a great option in this election, and here is the next eight!
I will forever remember what I was doing the exact moment when Barack took that sacred oath. My company has a tendency to block video footage and certain websites. All I wanted to do was watch the inauguration though! I was able to get to a point on CNN, where it authorized it, however there was a wait list! I mean seriously?! Get with technology CNN! So I was getting frantic and decided to try out MSNBC. Thank somebody cause it pulled it up right away! I was able to get live feed right as the orchestra played before he took the oath. Since my office has been so quiet, I couldn’t really turn up the sound on my laptop, but I say him raise his right arm, and that was good enough for me! I got through about half of the inauguration address when my computer blocked everything (THANK YOU I.T. Department!).
At which point CNN had already published the address, and I had to fight back the tears from streaming down my face. What an amazing person! In my mind I feel that Obama has accomplished more since November 5th alone, than *wonderful* Bush did in his last two years in office. I only hope that he will someday be held accountable for all of the amazing things he did…
To be honest, the entire address was beautiful and from the heart, but here are a few pieces that really touched me:
"That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
I think my favorite part is, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” How powerful and amazing! FINALLY someone who wants in my opinion a different option than war all the time! I know that if we all just work together, we can bring America up again, and realize how truly good we have it, and lend a helping hand things will be good again! I feel that because of greed and pure stupidity we got ourselves into this mess, and there is only one way to make it right again.
I look forward to coming years, and see how we as a nation can build ourselves up again. I am excited for these new challenges and see what path we will take. I know that we made a great option in this election, and here is the next eight!
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