In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
And:
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Good stuff! I loved hearing it. But, naturally, there were plenty of cringe-worthy moments, too:This bothers me because of his promise to remake America. Personally, I believe America is the best place in the world; if it wasn't, then why would people come here illegally all the time? Sure, there are things that need to be fixed, but...remaking? No thanks.
This is a laundry list of his policy objectives: growing government, evolution, universal health care, environmentalism. I say no thanks, no thanks, no thanks, and no thanks.
That's true. Too bad he's already got a long track record of doing just the opposite.
I'll believe it when I see it. And, since when is it the government's job to help families find jobs, ensure wages, or retirement? It used to be the responsibility of the individual.
And don't get me started on that poet. I'm not much of a fan of poetry, but I can at least appreciate good stuff. This lady, however, was a complete blithering idiot who made only slightly more sense than a random word generator would have.
Some other initial thoughts from the professionals that echo mine:
"The question is not whether government...
...is too big or too small, but whether it works." Funny, it has always struck me that those questions are directly related.
More Non-applause Lines
"The world has changed and we must change with it." Did you hear the ghostly almost applause?
"The White Will Embrace What Is Right"
So much for a colorblind closing "prayer."
Obama said something like, "It's time to quit putting off the unpleasant decisions." Geez: Making unpleasant decisions, in both the domestic and foreign spheres, was Bush's specialty. In fact, he sacrificed a good deal of political popularity because of it.
He suggested — more like said — that Bush had jettisoned American ideals in order to pursue security. That is a slander, pure and simple. Slandering your predecessor is not a good way to start a presidency.
All in all, it was a pretty lackluster speech, especially given the hype that it was to be the speech of the century. Even though the century is only 9 years old, it was still a letdown, and the crowd was obviously confused as to when they should have cheered; its lackluster response was a mere shade of many of Obama's campaign trail speeches. That's probably because he wrote this one himself, but David Axelrod wrote the best of his campaign speeches.
Though there were some good moments, I'll believe his sincerity on those moments when the rubber meets the road. Until then, I'm not convinced that he wasn't continuing his campaign tactic of saying one thing while doing another. We'll see in time.
Despite the vanilla-ness of it, I was genuinely offended by one particular part. The benediction was offered by Joseph Lowry. As a part of that benediction, he prayed that we would all work toward the time "when the black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when the yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when the white will embrace what is right".
How's that for post-racial? If this isn't a slap across the face to those of us who are 'white', I'm not sure what is. The entire context of this line is that whites are the only people in this country who are guilty of wrongdoing, and it is white people who are holding down every minority. What a load of crap. This is the kind of thing that has me convinced that the vast majority of racism still existing in America today is firmly entrenched in the minorities themselves.
The post-racial candidate of hope and change has ushered in his administration with words of racial divisiveness, unvarnished bitterness, and the same old grudges that have plagued this country for decades.
What a great start.
HOPE! CHANGE!
There's my two cents.
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