"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your
farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed
hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative
plenty,
we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside
our
borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to
effect. For the world has changed and we must change with it."Barack Obama
January 20, 2009
I was in Lilongwe for my group's close of service conference last week and stuck around to watch President Obama's inauguration. I watched it live at the home of the program director of USAID who is a former Peace Corps volunteer and loves watching out for poor volunteers. It was a nice quiet setting to enjoy watching such a historic event.
I'm sure you all saw it so there's no reason for me to recap what he said, but I thought he did an amazing job of capturing the ideals and history that make America such a great country. He also pointed out how we have let those ideals get away from us in the last few years, putting us into all of the problems we face now.
His speech was a call to action for us all as he declared:
"The time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to
reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry
forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to
generation; the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all
deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
His words are rousing but they mean nothing unless we collectively decide as a country to live up to them. We all need to be prepared to start living like a country at war and in economic crisis. Gone are the days of Bush where the President deals with national crisis by telling us to go out and buy stuff: we have to learn to start sacrificing the lavish lifestyles we have become so accustomed to.
I thought his speech was also a call to service recalling to memory JFK's immortal inaugural words "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I think now more than ever we need to look at our own lives and see what we can do to help put our country back on the right track again. No matter how big or small we should all find ways to pitch in, whether that means volunteering at the local food bank, or offering our services to teach for America. Equally important the role of child rearing; we must is to devote our time to raising our children to ensure the next generation will value the ideals that President Obama said our countries success depends on: honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism. We all have a role to play and the time to start is now, as Obama said, "Starting today, we must pick our selves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
As I listened, I thought a lot about the people in my own life who I think live up to Obama's call. I thought about my parents who are going through hard times as my Dad was laid off last year. He has since been hanging on to contract jobs. He remains positive and tells me every time we talk how grateful he is every day that he is able to go to work. My Mom still spends every free hour she has from her job as a cook at the local golf course volunteering with the many charities she's a part of, or supporting my Aunt Kathy who suffers from MS. I also thought of my brother and his wife Meta. Mike is literally working on changing the world as a staffer for the Senate Energy Committee. He is fighting for great ideas to build a sustainable energy system that can support our need for reliable energy without destroying our environment. Meta has devoted herself to raising their two sons, is the President of Logan's Parent Teachers Association, and an all around supermom. Finally as President Obama payed homage to our soldiers saying "they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves" I thought of one of my best friends from home Bobby, who has already served in Iraq, and is now in Army Ranger training.
No comments:
Post a Comment