Inauguration

So, our new president was inaugurated yesterday, and I could not be happier! Well, I suppose I could be happier, I mean, if Imogen Heap's new album was out I would be happier but still! I am pretty happy (why isn't it out yet!?). Admittedly, though, when I first started watching, I was unimpressed.

I woke up late yesterday, not having to wake up early due to having only one class at 1:00 in the afternoon. I turned on CNN at about 11:05 or so. One of the first things I saw was Rick Warren, and the sight of him fills me with disgust.

For those not familiar with the controversy, Rick Warren was the person chosen to do the invocation at Obama's inauguration. I, and most of the gay community, had quite a problem with this, as Rick Warren is someone who has equated homosexuality with pedophilia and incest, and I think possibly even rape, though I'm not sure. This is not acceptable. I understand that Obama is trying to reach across the aisle, but I am sure that he could have chosen someone who was loved by the conservative right, and still respected by the other side. Rick Warren's involvement alienates a large portion of Obama's support base. Symbolic decisions are important in active civil rights struggles, and while I still feel he cares about gay rights, Obama is not reflecting this with this decision.

Besides that, prayers at public, non-religious ceremonies weird me out. I know that this is a predominantly Christian nation, but we are not a theocracy, and the inauguration is a celebration of the will of all American citizens, NOT just the Christians. Having something at a public ceremony that is completely not affiliated with a church or any religious organization isn't really fair to those among us who do not pray to that specific deity.

But Rick Warren did about as well as I expected him to; I wasn't really listening to him anyway. I went to lunch after that and got my food just in time to see the majority of Obama's inauguration address, and I must say, it was incredible.

His speech seriously gave me chills at multiple points. I can't say that normally happens, and true, it was probably a function of the temperature of the dining center, but I choose to attribute the chills to the speech, because Obama is just that awesome. I am really happy to have a president who can actually speak publicly, because I feel it is one of the most important traits of a good president. How much influence a president actually has over the system at large can be argued, but one thing that they do have pretty much complete control over is how the rest of the world views us.

Presidents represent us to the rest of the world, and for the last eight years, we have been represented by an old-looking hyper-conservative southern white guy, who is completely and utterly incompetent as a public speaker. My loathing for Bush's speaking ability knows no bounds. Now, however, we have a tall, young, black man with a Muslim sounding name as our commander-in-chief. That is something the rest of the world respects far more. This is aided by the fact that he is a brilliant speaker. Bush had bad ideas, but even his couple good ideas, he could not sell well because he was a complete failure as a public speaker. Obama has good ideas, and he knows how to communicate them. I have the utmost respect for Obama, and while I am sure he won't be able to live up to all the expectations set for him, I think he will do a very good job.

I didn't really watch more of the inauguration after that, but I did hear Aretha Franklin sing. You go girl!