Inaugural Address Responce

President Barak Obama, if nothing else is giving the world something to talk about, instilling hope in millions, and reaching out to many more who may or may not be ready to hear him. Everyone seems to have such strong opinions already about what he is capable of and what he will ultimately amount to, and in his inaugural address he laid the groundwork for what his dreams and plans are over the next four years. Unlike those who oppose him, his vision for society and his focus is heavily on inclusion. He wants to unite us as a country, as a continent, as a world which has the potential to be such an amazing opportunity. He makes no effort to hide the fact that he faces a number of hurtles, but is positive and unwavering that we can work together to overcome them. He also makes it very clear that this is the start of a new era- of rebirth, a new direction, of change. As a president, I do not know if he will leave behind a legacy of greatness or failed promises, but he has brought the nation more together already, and for that, I like him already.
Obama was very clear in his speech about his vision for society being equality and inclusion for all. He lays the groundwork for the nation by mentioning our “patchwork heritage” and how we are a nation made from different peoples from different places. He directly is speaking to the people of the United States but his undertones of inclusion are meant also for the world at large. He is very careful to include ‘men’ and ‘women’ instead of just ‘men’ when he makes a statement. He mentioned also “Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Nonbelievers” in an effort to unify our main religious groups. As a person, I am very quick to recognize that I fall under none of these five categories, but as a citizen I am grateful he even made the effort to try. I also notice that he included different races, religions, nations, and peoples in his inclusion, but made no reference to sexual orientation or gender presentation, whether this is because he felt it was too specific, he is against it, or he wants to avoid it entirely is yet to be seen. What we do know is that, as Obama said, “this is a new era of peace where we need to drop our differences” which sums up his position- that within and beyond our country’s borders, we need to get over petty problems and make good with those around us so that we may work together.
Working together for what would be the logical question here, and to this he answered with cleaning up and reorganizing, directly our country, but indirectly our planet. He made no effort to negate the fact that we are in “economic crisis” and more then that, we need a huge once-over to many of our current systems, but he is dedicated to tackling them each in time. He acknowledges that we are at war, and mentions we need to pull out, but it seems that’s a side note he’d rather push aside to focus on internal problems first. In relation to the economy he mentions programming like building bridges and roads to give people jobs, which seems a solid strategy. He said we need to raise healthcare’s quality and lower its price, I agree, but cleaning up some of the corruption and the backwards insurance companies would be a good place to start. He also mentions that we need to improve schools and colleges, I hope this means chopping out the “No Child Left Behind” that served to Leave More Children Further Behind. Through his plan for rebuilding our unity and problems as a nation, we continues the undertone that we must work together and resolve our differences, or at least put them aside as we have bigger issues facing us. He says nothing is impossible, and there is no limit to “what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined with common purpose.”
What he is hoping to achieve, here, is the turning over of a leaf, the existence of a new era. Partly this is an effort to stick to his party and distance himself from George W. Bush, or rather, from Bush’s abysmal approval ratings, but I think it is also his genuine dream. In more words or less he says that we need to overhaul our programs, cut the bad ones and improve the effectiveness of the good ones, which seems logical. He says we need to restore trust between the people and the government, part of which he is already striving for by gracefully but clearly distancing himself from Mr. Bush. But his message here switches from the local to the global. He offers peace to the Middle East, showing that we is willing to negotiate and give chances unlike what McCain seemed to be proposing of going in guns-blaring. He lays a commitment to help poor nations, being the superpower that we are, to help them help themselves get what they need, mainlining clean water. He says “your people will judge you on what you build not what you destroy”, which is a cute message, but in truth, the people will judge you for both, they will only like you for what you metaphorically build, and will hate you for what you metaphorically destroy. He acknowledges that he has his work cut out for him but has committed to this new era, where we work together through our differences and make our environment, both in the tangible and intangible, a better place to be for all.
In his speech on election night he mentioned that he is the president of everyone, those who voted for him and those who didn’t, and he graciously accepted his place and is determined to reach out to everyone (I hope) that he represents. His vision for our country and our world is one of great cooperation, where we, as the inhabitants, all accept each other and treat each other as we would like to be treated. He makes no effort to hide the face that the global economy, environment, and moral is abysmal at best, but that we do not have to accept this as the only way and true to our history we will overcome it! His vision is that of a new era of unity were we rebuild ourselves as a nation and help others to do the same. Some may doubt his commitment or his ability, or judge him based on his youth, his party, his name, or the amount of melanin in his skin, but I, and many people older then people, have not seen the country pull together in such a way in many, many years; and that in itself is a beacon of hope and a sign that we can pull together, and with some guidance we can put aside our differences and make this world we live in a better place for everyone.