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WASHINGTON – A joyous chant rose today from the sea of humanity that covered the national mall.
The word repeated in tens of thousands of mouths, the syllables riding a cold, dry wind all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to the West Front of the Capitol. There, Barack Hussein Obama had just taken the presidential oath of office and was starting to deliver his inaugural address.
“O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!”
It’s unusual for a chant of the new president’s name to rise spontaneously from an inaugural crowd, but we’ve not had a president or an inauguration like this. Up to 2 million people flocked to Washington to witness the event.
Such is the power of words that “Obama!” – chanted or declared -- has come to embody cultural pride and the nation’s promise for many Americans. The word of the day was Obama.
Thirty-five words -- a simple oath set in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution – transform an ordinary citizen into a president. Those words are the key ingredient of an inauguration. All the rest – the pomp, the haunting music, the poetry, the prayers, the parade, the balls – are gravy. Delicious, but not essential.
Obama’s decision to use his middle name for his swearing-in was deliberate. History is mixed on the use of the middle name. Some presidents do, some don’t.
Obama moved from being Barry as a youth to Barack when he grew up. During the presidential campaign, some of his critics had insisted on using all three of his names to highlight his “differentness.” Triumphant, his decision to include Hussein seemed to signal not only that Obama was embracing his multicultural heritage but that he was also signaling a new direction for the United States.
In his speech, he said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
Obama, the son of a Kenyan Muslim and a Kansan Christian, also spoke directly to those who would use terrorism against the United States, saying, “We say to you now that, `Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot out last us, and we will defeat you.’
“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” he said.
His next line was striking for its inclusiveness: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.”
In speaking to the politicians arrayed on the platform around him, Obama quoted Scripture and urged an end to “petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”
And he exhorted the people to remember that the greatness of America is not a given -- but must be earned.
It’s a testament to our faith in our democracy that Americans agree that the words matter. Leaders in other countries relinquish power only at the end of a gun. Our hallmark is the peaceful transition of power through words.
And on Jan. 20, 2009, we again witnessed the power of words.
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What do you think? Comment below.
The word repeated in tens of thousands of mouths, the syllables riding a cold, dry wind all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to the West Front of the Capitol. There, Barack Hussein Obama had just taken the presidential oath of office and was starting to deliver his inaugural address.
“O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!”
It’s unusual for a chant of the new president’s name to rise spontaneously from an inaugural crowd, but we’ve not had a president or an inauguration like this. Up to 2 million people flocked to Washington to witness the event.
Such is the power of words that “Obama!” – chanted or declared -- has come to embody cultural pride and the nation’s promise for many Americans. The word of the day was Obama.
Thirty-five words -- a simple oath set in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution – transform an ordinary citizen into a president. Those words are the key ingredient of an inauguration. All the rest – the pomp, the haunting music, the poetry, the prayers, the parade, the balls – are gravy. Delicious, but not essential.
Obama’s decision to use his middle name for his swearing-in was deliberate. History is mixed on the use of the middle name. Some presidents do, some don’t.
Obama moved from being Barry as a youth to Barack when he grew up. During the presidential campaign, some of his critics had insisted on using all three of his names to highlight his “differentness.” Triumphant, his decision to include Hussein seemed to signal not only that Obama was embracing his multicultural heritage but that he was also signaling a new direction for the United States.
In his speech, he said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
Obama, the son of a Kenyan Muslim and a Kansan Christian, also spoke directly to those who would use terrorism against the United States, saying, “We say to you now that, `Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot out last us, and we will defeat you.’
“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” he said.
His next line was striking for its inclusiveness: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.”
In speaking to the politicians arrayed on the platform around him, Obama quoted Scripture and urged an end to “petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”
And he exhorted the people to remember that the greatness of America is not a given -- but must be earned.
It’s a testament to our faith in our democracy that Americans agree that the words matter. Leaders in other countries relinquish power only at the end of a gun. Our hallmark is the peaceful transition of power through words.
And on Jan. 20, 2009, we again witnessed the power of words.
///
What do you think? Comment below.