The Daily Doss

Due to the immense web traffic generated by the multitudes of people around the world attempting to get a glimpse of history today, my sense of what happened physically at Barack Obama’s inauguration is limited to stuttering images from a couple of computers at work; each was stuck on different moments of the event, making the fact that the word “live” appeared at the bottom of each screen slightly distressing.  That ol’ stalwart known as radio once again proved itself to be a necessity, as my bosses, co-workers, and I were still able to take part in the moment by listening to the proceedings as they happened.

The radio stripped-away the fanfare and swelling crowds, and without Obama’s race to focus on, I was left with only his words.  Don’t get me wrong, as an African-American, I am still proud, and awash in awe and amazement that at 30 years of age, I get to see an America that has elected its first black president.  The flood of emotion I felt during his speech, however, was because Obama—who during his campaign was renowned for his soaring rhetoric and rousing speeches—chose to forgo his usual style of dazzling performance and instead issued an earnest call to arms, asking us to search for the best within ourselves.

Since being elected President, Obama has been inundated by experts who have informed him of the overwhelming and sobering amount of problems our country is experiencing and has yet to face.  Instead of glossing over our country’s problems, Obama chose to list each and every one.  After repeatedly calling our current situation the “crisis” that it is, he referred to “the sapping of confidence across our land” (a sensation that I think started with 9/11, and consistently reinforced by Bush administration thereafter), and implored us to “reaffirm our enduring spirit” and “choose our better history.”

In this age of ubiquitous irony, snarky journalism, and consumer obsession, Obama attempted to cut through the noise and ask Americans to “extend opportunity to every willing heart,” not for self gain, “but because it is the surest route to our common good.”  These are timeless values that he is asking us to rediscover within ourselves.  By asking us to take part in what he called a “new era of responsibility,” Obama is telling us that that the time of sitting around (merely complaining about the state of affairs without actively doing something about it) is no longer satisfactory.  The economic crisis, the massive layoffs, the lack of health care, the failure of public schools, and the war in Iraq are summits too big for one man and an administration to fix: “for as much as the government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.”

This is a President who doesn’t talk down to the American people or dismissively assure us that he is taking care of everything.  Barack Obama is asking us to be excited that, at its heart, the notion of democracy implies that we have a hand in creating the country we say we desire, but it can only done if we take an active role.

By becoming the 44th President of the United States yesterday, Barack Obama is proof that we can start to overcome our messy past of racial separatism when we realize that our “patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.”  These points have stuck with me and inspired me to add volunteering to my 2009 “to do” list, as well as rethink my approach to day-to-day personal interactions.

So, yes, I am extremely proud of his being the first black President.  Yesterday, however, I realized that I am equally proud to have a President who is an intellectual, who asks us to contemplate tolerance, honesty, courage, and temperance.  Now that we have been asked, it is up to us to decide if we, as individuals and as a collective, are truly up to the task.