Inauguration

Everyone on the planet knows that President Elect Obama will have his Inauguration on January 20th, 2009. Some rejoice in his success, some rejoice in the fact that George W. Bush will no longer be President, and some are unhappy. Fortunately, the latter seem to be a minority otherwise Obama wouldn't have won the election.

All things being equal, January 20th seems to be a really big date. Personally, I had thought to attend the Inauguration. I was born when Nixon was President. Ford followed. Jimmy Carter was the first that I remember. There was Reagan, then George Bush, then Bill Clinton and then this last President - George W. Bush. 7 Presidents in my lifetime, with an 8th soon. Of them, though, only 4 were Presidents whose policies I followed and whose policies had an impact on me. Reagan, Bush (Desert Storm), Clinton (base closures and making 'oral sex' an household phrase), George W. Bush (list too long)... and now Obama.

So there are presently 43 U.S. Presidents. Soon to be 44. And of the 43, I've been alive for 7. For roughly 16.279% of all the U.S. Presidents of history. But President Elect Obama will be my President, not because he's partly of African descent or because of any reason attributed to him - rather, I'm of an age now where I pay attention to what is going on a bit better... and, admittedly, Obama's predecessor has/d a lot to do with that(!).

And so, I was considering going to the Inauguration. A moment in history for the United States, true, but more importantly a bit of history for myself. And so I started considering taking the flight from Trinidad and Tobago to Washington, DC and finding a place to stay to... stand outside and see a human being be driven by. There is something profoundly weird about that. Not to mention the press of humans who will be all along the route, with enough security to make Israel stand up and take notice (but hopefully not as many civilians will be killed). Personally, I dislike crowds anyway. So I decided not to go to the Inauguration - not because it will put physical, electronic and security strains on systems... but simply because technology permits me to watch from a distance.

Sure, I won't get to be trampled and frustrated by not being able to see... and I won't be able to buy all the authentic inauguration paraphernalia... but I can watch it on television. I don't have to read Twitters or blogs. I know how the story ends. Obama becomes President, as he should.

I'm more interested in what he will do as President rather than what he looks like beforehand, anyway. The Middle East could really use some foreign policy instead of foot dragging right about now, the U.S. economy is not only in the toilet but is on the brink of being flushed and the U.S. seems ill prepared for dealing with the rapidly developing economies.

All of that won't be at the Inauguration. So I'll hold off on the inauguration with the promise that I will be paying attention to the important things from the safety and comfort that the wonders of technology permit me to.