Inauguration 2009

I had a busy day. Work, school, projects, papers, issues, etc. (So busy and frazzled, in fact, that a good friend started a facebook group for me--"Help EV Flourish." I'm flattered, I think? Ferris Bueller was loved in a similar way as well. And it worked out for him, right?). But in the midst of all the busying, I got to sit down and watch President Obama address the nation. And that is what he did--eloquently, respectfully, and forcefully. PLEASE, if you didn't watch it or read it online, read the full text here. No matter your politics, your agendas, your beliefs, or ideologies, it is a speech that deserves at least one reading. I thought it was a stellar speech on paper and masterfully delivered. It laid aside bitter partisanships. It laid aside deep-rooted hatreds and prejudices. Most importantly, though, it reminded us of who we are, where and who we come from, and what we can do to move forward as the Great Nation we are. I don't care who you are, if you weren't moved or inspired, you and I need to have a chat. Hope is in such short supply these days. And it's never been needed more. So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet.

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."