The Inauguration

It is a moment in history. A moment when some are inspired and others are dismayed. Whomever you voted for, whether your candidate won or loss - the inauguration epitomizes our independence our freedom. As I watched I thought of how nice it will be when speakers don't have to say; man or woman, immigrant or natural born, gay or straight, rich or poor. I believe that day will arrive. As I sat here, listening to the speeches - I was filled with hope. My body broken, my life in disarray it is hope, faith and love which sustains me. I think of our children. What legacy shall we leave them? I believe each of us holds responsibility for our country. We must raise our voices - whether in debate or agreement - at the end of the day we can shake hands, agree to disagree - but we will have done our part to make our country better. I became a teacher believing I could impact children in a positive manner. I wanted to teach the children no one else wanted. I believed I could empower them, give them tools and skills so they could have the same opportunities I had. As a student of history I do believe we can return our country to the status of the leading nation in the world. It won't be done in the halls of the Congress. It will happen in our streets, our stores, our schools. It will happen in our hospitals, our military academies, our fields, and our factories. Hope, my goodness, we have to put some oil on our hope - dust off our preconceived notions, take out our history books - If you are not moved by the ceremony of the Inauguration. Just the ceremony of it...the freedom, the republic in which you live, if words of hope do not inspire you to action then what is to become of us? What will you leave your children? If you have stood at the Vietnam Wall, at The Lincoln Memorial, at the Peace Pond...If you have read the entire Constitution then you are blessed. These are only symbols. Symbols meant to inspire us so future generations will have the same opportunity. If you can read, write, drive your car to work, feed your child a healthy meal, pay your mortgage, take a walk, then you have a responsibility to do more.  Oh, I know it is all a bunch of words, written by craftsmen of words, spoken after much rehearsal - yet is is amazing. It is glorious. So do you turn these symbols into action, or do you walk on by? No one person has the answer. No one person can do it alone - Yet if we all pledge to make our corner of the world just a little bit better - if we all pledge to empower someone else; Take a step forward who knows where that one step will lead you. I know I am just a sucker for hope. A sucker for the lessons of life, the lessons of history and the belief that I can make a difference! You have the right to bear arms so shoot me. (that is a joke) We don't have to take away rights to become better - we have to give more rights. We don't have to dismantle our upper class so we can have a thriving middle class. We don't have to have more government in our homes to have more freedom in our streets. Come on, if you watched, didn't you have a few chills when Beyonce' sang? Was there not one moment when you thought - Ya' know, maybe we can turn this around? Gosh I sure hope there was. I sure hope, whether democrat or republican or independent - there was one moment during this Inauguration when you thought; "There is Hope!"