An Historic day

I watched the the Inauguration ceremony today, together with old friends and work colleagues.

It was freezing in Washington, and it looked it, everyone rugged up, the crowds below red faced, the children hiding behind their scarves. I was glad I wasn't there.But I was also glad that I was with friends, with company, it seemed the sort of thing to do with others, not on your own...

And I have to say, I loved Obama's speech. For the past few years I've felt a real incongruity in America. We're at war, but only those directly involved feel it, there's no tax, barely a mention, no sense of a nation with a purpose gearing up behind it. We have an economic crisis but all the New York Times is doing is blathering about how $1250 designer handbags are on sale for $699. I thought to myself, there's no recession if people are paying $699for a handbag! In November everyone was talking about the recession in all the Tribeca restaurants, and all the restaurants were full to overflowing...

DH said we would see it more clearly in January, and indeed, some of those strange little boutiques that I would walk by and wonder who they sold to - they have closing sales signs in their windows. Restaurants are still full, but no one is buying the top of the wine list, and some are not buying wine at all.

And then there was the speech. I really feel that the president will mirror what is going on in the country, and stop giving us that weird feeling of disconnect. Obama is connected and telling the truth, 'the path will be hard' he keeps saying.

Times are tough and some of the fault goes to us, for not looking closely at where we were going. Sure there were those more than willing to lead us astray, but we weren't looking closely. "Our collective failure to make hard choices," I'm glad that he says straight out. We were binging on designer handbags and lifestyles that we absolutely could not afford, and now comes the vomiting and indigestion that follows. I want less excess, less everything, and here is a man, a President, telling me how it is, not how he wants it to be, or how it should be if only those silly Iraqi's knew what was good for them. This is not a man who would tell us to save the economy by going out shopping. This is a man who tells us to save America by making things of worth and giving careful consideration to what we buy and why we buy it.

I really liked his reminder of previous generations and the sacrifices they made 'for us', and what are we doing, the recipients of all this sweat and toil? We need to be worthy of it, and to pass better on to our children, as they passed better on to us. It made you feel like you were in a chain, linked past to future, obligations and efforts flowing all ways...

I like this message and I'm so glad he gave it to us.