A Historical Day in America

Today was a historic step forward in America: the inauguration of President Obama. But what struck me almost more than the advancement that our country took on this chilly January day, was the observance of the steps that were taken to get to this moment. Poet Elizabeth Anderson referenced past and present American lifestyles; the commentators continued to reference Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech that took place on the other end of the National Mall; and President Obama himself addressed everything from the Pilgrims to the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement to the tragedies of September 11. The recognition of each of these ground-breaking moments in history in such a troubling time - a time of two wars and a recession - made me remember what it means to be and made me proud to be an American.
And I know I am not the only one. A fact that I can very much appreciate despite the fact that I did not vote for him is the fact that having Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States has so far brought this nation very much together. The 1.4 million people gathered to bear witness to his inauguration is evidence of such. (The average turnout for this occasion is 400,000 people - 1 million less than this year.) We can only hope that President Obama lives up to all of our hopes and expectations for him.
The acknowledgement of our nation's past was very much a part of this monumental moment of progress also made me realize that I was in fact witnessing history. The inauguration of the first black president in U.S. history. A moment in time that will forever be remembered and I - we as a generation - not only played a huge part in making it happen - but were lucky enough to be able to witness it. History was truly being made right before my very eyes.
Another thing that I found monumental about this day was the end of President Bush's administration. Because Pres. Bush had been president for as along as I could realize and understand and truly appreciate exactly what a president does, it was personally astounding to realize that we did in fact have a new president. The past eight years have come to a close and a new administration, and a new era have in fact begun.