In response to requests to comment upon the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, practically on his deathbed, wrote this about "The Declaration of Independence" in 1826: "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government... All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of men. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."
Nearly two-hundred years later, on January 20, 2009, we heeded Jefferson's advice to "burst the chains of monkish ignorance" (and arrogance) that have recently bound us and to "assume the blessings of self-government" under a truly brilliant and inspiring leader. On that day, we again broadened our definition of equality and came one step closer to realizing the "self-evident" truths espoused in our most famous founding document. We have much work to do as a country--and a global community--but for now, we can pat ourselves on the back and hope that we made Mr. Jefferson proud.
Tuesday, January 20 was truly an historic day for our country and Heather and I got to experience it first hand. As the last entry explained, a friend from work knew we were excited about our new president and gave us two tickets to the inauguration. We were already planning on going but what a great opportunity to see history being made up close. Well, we were certainly there to see history, but not really up close. As the news has reported, we were two of the 10,000 who had tickets but could not get inside. We made the best of it and walked a mile to the closest jumbo-tron to watch President Obama's inspiring speech.
The inaugural speech was perfect in every way. Without a doubt, it is the craft of a constitutional scholar and a social activist. His oration will be regarded as one of the finest speeches and moments in American history. If any of you have not read it or want to hear it masterfully delivered again, you can do so at this CNN site. It is heartening to have a leader who wants to inspire people to take ownership of their country in "a new era of responsibility."
Just as inspiring were the throngs of people there to participate in the occasion. Everyone was extremely polite and pleasant despite being turned away and the bitter cold. It is amazing how much warmer it is when you are shoulder to shoulder with 2 million other people.
Getting back out of DC was easy and we were only stuck in about an hour of traffic. The best part is we are like local celebrities (among our group of hippy friends) because we were there.
Lance
Photos attached are: 1) crowds at the Washington Monument, 2) self portrait at the spot where we watched the speech, and 3) someone not so happy that Barack Obama is the new commander in chief.
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