I return to blogging after a long hiatus while I made my minuscule contribution to today's Presidential Inauguration. And it is with that subject I shall start.
Like millions of others, I was inspired, awed, elated and hopeful as I watched history being made in such dramatic and conclusive fashion. Yes, I hung on every word and image. One great gift of retirement is that a person can experience, at least electronically, the world and it's occasions as they happen. Today was my indulgence in a panoply of moments that hold the hope of a better world for all.
However, I am struck buy a singular thought relative to my age. Having lived through more than one "historical moment" I find that today is different in an important way.
I saw Kennedy, King and Kennedy taken from us. And then, like many younger Americans, I witnessed the horror of 9/11. All these moments in history were ones that fit the "I remember where I was when..." significance. But all the previous memorable historic moments in my lifetime were ones filled with sadness, anger, despair and a loss of faith.
And then there is today. With the possible exception of the moon landing, no other public event in my lifetime has provided the sense of hope, of being on the right path at the right time, of being called on for the best in each of us, of community and peace and justice forthcoming by the sweat of our own brow.
Like many, my life has been filled with private moments of hope and reward, love and laud, glories of the past and gifts of future. Public hope is much harder to come by and takes a common vision made whole by both symbols and action. President Obama today was our symbol. We all must be the action.
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1 comment:
Nicely written just like all of them always are
ab
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