Inauguration 2009Inauguration 2009
I had the opportunity to attend the 56th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009 with nine Prestonwood Christian Academy students. While it was the 44th president being sworn into office, it was officially the 56th time these ceremonies have been planned - and President Obama is actually the 43rd different person to be President of the United States (since Grover Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and is thus counted twice). As you can tell, in preparing for the inauguration, I read up on the history of the inaugural events themselves and found them fascinating. I've read several past inaugural addresses - my favorite being Lincoln's second inaugural address - and knew a little of the history of the event; but since I was going to be there I wanted to know even more.
While I wasn’t attending the inauguration of the person I voted for, there were many incredible things to witness and much to observe with great interest. Plus, I was reminded while I was there that I was attending the inauguration of my president – our country only has one president and he serves the entire country and that individual is elected in a open and democratic fashion each time serving as a tribute to the incredible nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, to quote from Lincoln’s most famous address. In our nation’s history, there have been numerous individuals who have served as our Commander-in-Chief without overwhelming popular support, but they have served in that capacity and done their duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as they sworn to do from day one. I was reminded that service often comes at a great cost – and often without thanks or appreciation either! The first time outgoing President Bush showed up on the jumbotron, there was a fairly loud “boo” that arose from the pro-Obama crowd. And when the outgoing president makes his exit via helicopter, there were many singing, “Hey, hey, hey, good-bye” as he flew overhead. Of course, we also saw a gigantic blowup likeness of Bush with a sign that said, “We’re giving him the boot” and people were standing in line to throw a pair of boots at the figure of the man who served our country for eight long, hard years…like I said, sometimes service isn’t appreciated or rewarded – great life lesson! Our Head of School often quotes Colossians 3:23, 24 which says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord you are serving.” Great reminder watching President Bush leave not to cheers of thankfulness and appreciation – he wasn’t serving man, he was serving the Lord and his real reward is yet to come.
Most of the experience at the inauguration was fantastic – the crowd was energetic and the atmosphere was celebratory – it was a very fun place to be. It was especially encouraging to be a part of something historical – a culmination to years and years of effort on the part of countless men and women who simply refused to be discounted by society based simply on the color of their skin. There were several times when various members of the crowd would break out into some old spiritual hymns connecting these men and women with those who went before paving the way for equality and the fulfillment of Dr. King’s famous dream – “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” It was an amazing experience to be a part of the historical event that marked quite possibly the culmination of that dream – an African-American man was sworn in to the highest office of the land! I hope that from this point forward the rest of Dr. King’s dream would be fulfilled as well – that one day we will vote for or against people based solely on “the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
It was a proud day to be an American. The peaceful transfer of power exists here today like nowhere else before in history. And although we hear and see that our culture continues to marginalize God at every turn, it was great to hear the name of Jesus exalted in the prayer of Pastor Rick Warren that day and to see the most powerful man in the world take his oath of office with one hand on the Bible and repeating the words made famous by Washington following the inaugural inauguration – “so help me God.” I continue to pray for my president as I have for those who preceded him that he would humble himself before God, seek His face, and help guide our country to the path of righteousness. I was also reminded at the inauguration that President Obama is only one man, and the direction of this nation will be guided much more by the faithfulness of her people than by the policies of her president. Which means that I have a very significant role to play in the history of our nation, and so do you. I pray that we, too, will be faithful in our calling as citizens of a great nation and an eternal Kingdom!
Mary Carl makes this comment
Tue 03 Feb 2009 20:30:19 CST