The Birds are Singing Again...

I would like for this blog to be able to capture the feel of yesterday's achievements and events so that I can print it out and give it to my daughter some day. I want her to understand the feeling and importance of what she has lived through; although I suspect that the task of capturing the moment is next to impossible. With a brother-in-law coming home this last week and a sister who can finally feel whole again, a new president in the White House, and something as minor as a new day of a new semester of school, I feel great...for today.

The election of the 44th president of the United States was definitely an experience of a lifetime. Much more than simply feeling the excitement from the crowd of millions who watched the inauguration of the first African American president, the world felt good again. As one of my husband's friends said "The birds were chirping once again." Of course they were chirping before too, but I think it was hard to appreciate the good when we were smothered in the doom and gloom of the economy, war, and an administration that didn't seem to care what the majority of the people wanted to do with our money or our lives for that matter. Yesterday, though, felt like a new day.

Since I had to work yesterday I watched the inauguration from my office door on a television that was 10 feet away in another room, but at least I was able to watch. I was glad too because I loved seeing all the people who were gathered and the fantastic speech from our new president. I especially liked all of the happy text messages I received from friends and family moments later. Even my own mother said "Praise God we have a new leader." Maybe George Bush wasn't as bad as all of this makes him sound. Maybe he is a scape goat for years of greed building up to what seemed to be a never ending and depressing regime, but most likely he does have some responsibility for what has occurred over the last eight years, right? To listen to him, however, he does not believe in bringing work home, being remorseful about the past, or feeling sorry for himself. He could at least muster up the energy to be empathetic to those lives that he was in charge of over the last few years and how he has impacted them. So whenever I feel bad for him, I think of last week's press conference and then I feel okay with the cheers from a crowd singing "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye..." as he flew away. Would I have done that? No, but I do understand. You see, by not accepting any responsibility, it became easy for the public to give him all of it. Yesterday wasn't about him though, it was about hope and change, which is what we need.

I saw speeches and interviews from some of the most amazing and influential people (Colin Powell, a member of the Arkansas nine, a person who was an informant against the KKK in the 60's, and more) who were equally ecstatic and none of them did the historic moments of yesterday justice. When my daughter and I watched the Disney kids' inaugural ball that we had taped from the night before, we laughed, we danced, and watched the first kids have a blast and I thought to myself "This would be a different moment if the election outcome had turned out differently." I don't even want to pause on the thought of it because it just saddens me that we came so close.

This day did not get by, however, without the occasional naysayer or even the occasional racist. For example, I came in to my e-mail at work this morning only to see a racist e-mail from a coworker.... I awoke to MSN's ticker tape online of mostly good wishes littered with pessimism and hate from what I am guessing are the minority of Republicans who cannot fully appreciate the good fortune of a Democrat, even when it is such a historic celebration.... I talked to my husband who took uh, a relative to the airport with his wife and a couple of friends who preceded to spew racist remarks and words, even though they knew my husband, who sat in the car with his Barack Obama "Hope" shirt on, clearly did not agree with this behavior. Why? Are they better? Do they have a degree from Columbia and Harvard? Do they have even half of the foreign policy knowledge our new leadership holds? Do they have a plan to make things right with the economy, health care, the world??? My guess is no, they do not.

I get so frustrated watching people tear people down; yet never do anything to contribute to making the world a better place. How simple it must be to sit back and criticize others, not on their merit, but on their skin color, class, looks, etc. These are the individuals that take a day that is infused with excitement, achievement, and history, and pepper that day with blemishes of human flaws and setbacks. They take what the rest of us look at as a giant step forward and bring us back to reality by forcing us see exactly how much further we as a society have to go. I hear so often that "People of that generation don't know any better," but from what I know of human nature and our intrinsic ability to know right from wrong, even 50, 100, 200 years ago we as human beings knew better than to treat our fellow man the way we have seen people treated. You can't tell me that, having lived back then, I would have accepted the mistreatment and deaths of other human beings as "Part of our culture." I just wouldn't have. People knew, they simply chose to ignore what they knew was right. It wasn't okay then and it is less okay now, whether you were raised that way or not. At some point these individuals inner conscience and intelligence should have kicked in and told them that what they are doing, or saying, was hurtful and wrong. Are these individuals simply afraid of change? Do they think if they hang onto their old values and beliefs that they will somehow be able to hold onto their youth? The way things were? A simpler life? I can't say.

I realize that Obama is not going to be able to save the world; nor should we expect him to; however, I do love the feeling of inspiration that seems to be spreading like a contagious disease that is good. I love that the country has made a step forward, but understand (as one interviewee I saw out it) that we cannot become complacent because we think this is the end of an era of progress. This is only the beginning. So, onto my hopes for a day where women will be given the same privilege and respect that all men have had the chance to experience. A day where I can tell my daughter that if she works hard enough, anything she aspires to be is a possibility. We have seen it once, we can see it again. I just know it.

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With that said... What I have learned from my first day of my new semester at school: I am currently taking a group therapy class for grad school, which coincidentally gave me some insight into the leadership of a country. A person/leader of a group has a better chance of making headway through the act of inclusion. Meaning... the less polarized a group is, the more the group will be able to accomplish. Through partisan tactics, such as the ones we have seen over the past eight years, the previous leader has managed to throw a kink into the system, causing all progress to halt. By instilling fear in people, people have been less motivated to reach out to others, spend money, and to generally make any kind of progress. When everyone in the group feels welcome, the more likely the members are to reach out to others, take part in the progress, and share information with all sides. Items in groups that don't work well are ones that have manipulators, large distractions, a negative feel, and leaders without focus, which is interesting because that is exactly what went wrong with McCain's campaign. There was no cohesiveness to his group and even less in the people he was trying to inspire.

I think that is what worked so well with Obama. I was at a rally with 100,000 other people and the group had a great feel. The atmosphere was positive and inspired, which is exactly what I want to see out of our country. That same feeling was described all over the D.C area yesterday as well. So one can see how he was able to win votes! When you are part of a really good group, you want to see fellow members succeed, and even more so, you want to be able to be a part of the success. I think that is why groups like Habitat for Humanity work so well. There is a positive feel, yet people aren't getting any monetary compensation. People pitch in because they know they are doing good in the world and there is inspiration in making a difference in another person's life. I am glad we finally (hopefully!) have someone in office who seems to understand the value of teamwork and community involvement.