History

One cannot under estimate the power of imagination. Barack Obama has captured the hopes and dreams of a nation and a people. This can be seen in just the number of people who have come to see the first black president sworn-in. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_scene

It is truly amazing that Martin Luther King’s prediction that this event could happen in 25 years but probably in 40 years. Forty years from that prediction in 1968, Barack Obama is elected. We have truly come a long way. We do have a long way to go in order to have open and honest conversations about race, and economics, but today we have at least answered part of the dream that we are capable of judging someone by the content of their character not by the color of their skin. It is a great day, and one that will change our views of the world forever. We cannot underestimate this moment, nor should we.

Several of things come to mind as we go through this day. We have elected a man with a Middle Eastern background, who has been raised with Muslim and Christian backgrounds. There will always be those (of any race) who use race as a divisive tool, but today we know that race should no longer be a discussion as a barrier to opportunity. As my grandmother use to say “we have bigger fish to fry”, and as a country we need to focus on the right things and be ready to make choices that are not based upon feel-good politics, but reasoned approaches to solving difficult problems. Not everyone will be happy.

I hope that several things that President Obama mentioned in his speech come to pass. The most important is the cutting of programs that do not meet their objectives. He singled out several such as social security, Medicare, overall health care, and Home Land Security. With the exception of Home Land Security, these programs have been under scrutiny for over 30 years and have not been reviewed, reconditioned, or even modified. Let us hope that we can address issues such as people owning and controlling their destiny. If people make mistakes, then they must live with the consequences of their actions. This is contrary to what we the people have been seeing happen to those in leadership positions. United Airlines, the Big 3 automakers, Wall Street, all have dodged the proverbial bullet, and have not had to live with the consequences of their actions. If you or I went to the bank and took 500 dollars from the till, we would be in jail with killers and rapists. Madoff is not in jail for bilking billions, he is under “house” arrest in his 7 million dollar apartment. This is what makes people upset.

We are an amazing country, in that we can look past things that have divided us in the past and move forward with new visions. Let us continue this move forward and begin tackling the hard issues and not waiting for someone else. It is not their responsibility it is ours.