Obama’s inauguration
It’s an odd sort of a ceremony, the inauguration. Singing, poetry, praying and swearing-in. Grandiose, but without the hideous pomp and tradition of European equivalents, yet at the same time a bit thin and awkward. The word God gets used so often you’d think it was church rather than government. Obama himself, though, at least mentioned that there were faith’s present other than Christians, and, indeed, Atheists. Good man. But it’s all just background hiss really. It’s the speech we all wanted, and it was a goody. It’s tough time to become president. I’m glad he didn’t foolishly evangelise about hope for the future. Obama’s speech talked of crises caused by greed and irresponsibility, and many other problems caused or encouraged by his cretinous warmongering predecessor.
And so he talked about starting again. Not a call to arms. A call to work. He’s bracing the US, in my opinion, for lean times where their interests might have to be globalised. It he really does want to help other countries (as he said), he’s going to have to weather criticism at home, especially during economic difficulties. His obvious intension to scale down America’s military aggression will be a help, I’m sure. War’s expensive in both lives and money. But the only way he’s actually going to achieve the things he wants (especially regarding his health and energy policies) is to hugely increase tax on rich people and business – a very difficult thing to do in the US – in order to distribute capital. Of course, he won’t actually be saying that yet, because it sounds sort of socialist… but it’s the only thing that he can do, really. He has to undo decades of reinforcement of that most appalling American export – the idea that selfishness is good.
On the other hand, the US is probably the only country in the developed west where leadership and salesmanship can achieve almost anything, even when there isn’t so much money as there used to be. The citizens of the US are an odd bunch when considered as a people. They are often mocked by the rest of us for being somewhat devoid of the hard cynicism we’re used to over the pond. When enthusiasm is the result, however, we should all be jealous. If the American people are prepared to work towards a common goal – and that goal is humanitarian – the entire world may follow. We cynical Europeans often forget that America has always been about hope. Obama is just the latest symbol of this. American society often stumbles and fails, it can be brutal and awful, but there is huge optimism there to, an ambition, and an energy and hope that I have never encountered in gloomy old England.
But if this grand change never occurs, we are still bound to enter a better era, if only in small ways. Obama supports science. He opposes torture. It might seem obvious that he should, but Bush’s administration didn’t. Unless he suddenly decides to nuke Moscow, his foreign policy cannot help but be more responsible. Even if these are the only things he manages to put right, the whole world will still be a better place.
He stood there on steps of a building built by slaves. He stood there, a black president seen in the lifetime of people who lived in segregated communities in the US, who were still prevented from voting by hook and crook within my lifetime, come to that. A mighty achievement in itself. More than two million people heard that speech live in the mall. There must be billions of us watching it worldwide. I wonder if it’s some sort of a record. It feels odd to be at this moment, one that so many of us have wanted for so long. Obama’s in. Bush is out. The best bit, after Obama’s speech, was watching that idiotic germ of a man get into a helicopter and head back to Texas. The air tastes better somehow.
I can only hope that the energy Obama generates, and he, survives the months ahead. I feel a tiny taste of optimism upon my tongue. It’s odd, a flavour I’ve grown unused to in the past decade. I shall savour it for as long as I can.