Today's Mood Is...

Production here in Purgatory has come to a grinding halt, as everyone pulls up CNN to watch the inauguration (I am going to assume for the sake of expediency that you know what I am referring to).  I wish I could be excited, but I'm not.  I understand the fact that it is history, but to be perfectly honest ALL inaugurations are historical in nature.  The fact that it has extra significance is commentary on both how far we have come as a nation in the last 40+ years, and how much further we really have to go to get where we should be, where something like skin color REALLY doesn't matter (no matter how much we like to be all "colorblind", no one is 100%).  

The thing is, it isn't personal politics.  I will not discuss who I voted for, because frankly it is none of your business.  There is a reason that ballots are private.  But the reason I am all "meh" is that I am trying (amidst a sea of hyperbole) to keep an even keel in regards to what this really means.  The fact is that the previous president was in charge during a time of unprecedented confusion, fear, and eventually economic uncertainty.  And guess which one of those three things REALLY caused his party to lose ground in the national scene.  If you said "MONEY", you win a prize (which I cannot afford to buy for you right now, so you will have to wait).  Barack Obama is a gifted speaker, a passionate man, and a man who seems to TRULY believe that he can help this country.  I will pray every day that he is guided to do what is best for the people of this country and for the people of the world.  May he be wise and deliberate with all of his decisions, and may the task never be more than he can bear.  But he is one man.  That is all that he is.  Jason Whitlock said it best when he said that he is excited for what the future holds, but that Obama isn't Jesus, Dr. King, or Malcolm X.  He is a very good politician (that is a paraphrase, since I cannot pull up Facebook here at work, so I cannot pull the exact quote).  And my fear is that people are now expecting him to do too much, to do the impossible.  And if he doesn't deliver, well, it ain't gonna be pretty.  

All evidence to the contrary, I am also excited for what the future holds.  But that is how I look at life every day.  Every morning that I get out of bed is a blessing, even if my legs hurt and I am tired and would like nothing more than to go back to sleep for another 6 hours.  I CAN get out of the bed.  A lot of people would trade these hardships of mine for theirs in a heartbeat.  The fact that I can hold down two jobs while so many are looking for work is a blessing.  I may not like having to miss out on spending time with my family and friends, but at least I can afford to provide food and shelter for my family, without having to ask for help from someone else, taking help from someone who truly needs it.  Instead, I can contribute to their aid.  I am excited that President Obama has new, fresh ideas to put towards solving the ills of my country and its people.  I just want everyone to take a deep breath, take a step back, and realize that tomorrow will not be all beer and skittles.  And as far as the inauguration goes, as long as it doesn't affect my ability to get from job 1 to job 2, and then to get back home, well then that is all I can really ask for from him today.  Tomorrow we can look at a government grant to support the fledgling BSR Empire.  Hell, Wall Street and Detroit surely don't need ALL $750 billion, do they?