Posted by Helen on: 01.21.2009 /
This was the first inauguration I’ve watched. I enjoyed it. I needed to be in the kitchen when it was on and our TV is in the basement, so I set up my computer in there and watched it on CNN Live.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Rick Warren. I was impressed by his prayer. Aretha Franklin was great and I liked the quartet after her - I was glad to see string players included even though I was afraid their fingers must have been freezing and I hope their instruments weren’t damaged by the cold.
Barack’s speech was awesome which didn’t surprise me at all. I liked that he said “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.” - finally, we have a president who realizes some Americans are nonbelievers!
I was glad to hear this acknowledgement of our moral responsibility to share our wealth with poorer nations:
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 I appreciated the way he implicitly defined faith here, as worthwhile character values and behavior - ones that American nonbelievers as well as believers unite in recognizing as good.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.
It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.
It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old.
The lack of black and white rhetoric (which seemed to be a feature of the previous President’s speeches) was refreshing and reassuring to me. I don’t find that most things in the real world come in simplistic black or white only.
I liked the poem. Then the final prayer by Rev Lowery was awesome. It was impassioned and poetic and even included a little humor at the very end.
Cathleen Falsani has transcripts and YouTube videos of many portions of the ceremony on her blog.
Comment by: Julie Marie
1I hope his gracious approach to conflict is contagious — both within and without our borders.
I am pleased to see that thus far his actions have supported his earlier promise to listen to those he does not agree with.
We don’t need a leader with big blind spots.
Comment by: Helen
2Thanks for your comment, Julie Marie.
Comment by: David H
3Don’t know if this is appropriate, but:
On Fresh Air yesterday, historian Eric Foner was interviewed about the Obama inauguration and questions ran toward similarities with the Lincoln inauguration, in part because Obama used the Lincoln Bible for the Oath of Office.
Interview — http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99473678
Foner seemed to think too much was being made of the similarities, noting (because of the Rick Warren controversy) as one example that Lincoln didn’t even have a pastor on the podium with him for either one of his inaugurations.
He went on to point out that there is little evidence many early U.S. presidents even used a Bible. Foner said: “John Quincy Adams was not even sworn in on a Bible…. He said I am pledging my allegiance to the laws.”
“John Quincy Adams, according to his own letters, placed his hand on a constitutional law volume rather than a Bible to indicate where his fealty lay,” according to an article in Slate magazine.
“People in the 19th cent, knowing the terrible wars of religion that had wracked the world for centuries, knowing that government intrusion into religion was actually bad for churches, were much more sensitive to this business of separation of church and state then we have become lately,” Foner said in his Fresh Air interview. “Lincoln, in his second inaugural, said: “Nobody knows God’s will, we have to do the best we can without knowing that.
“Today, we are much more advanced than that,” Foner added. “Every member of Congress knows God’s will. They have been told by God himself.”
Here’s hoping that Obama and the people of this country can put away such certainty for at least a short period of time.
Comment by: Helen
4David H wrote:
As best I can tell, Obama doesn’t seem to be emotionally invested in having that type of certainty. Which is one of the reasons I’m glad he’s President.
Comment by: Irritable
5I echo your thoughts and reactions, Helen. I thought the inaugural address was phenomenal. And I think Obama has a healthy sense of civic religion. I know some take umbrage at the fripperies of religion at all, but I’m more concerned about how it gets channeled.
Mostly I’m just delighted to have a president who speaks the language.
Comment by: Bob
6I get the sense that Obama is looking to bring some dignity back to the office of the president. He takes himself pretty seriously and I think he believes he can accomplish some pretty remarkable things. I hope it’s sincere, I hope he does good things. After watching politics throughout the Clinton era and beyond I think people in our own country and others have not respected the office as it was in the past. The ceremony to me (other than flubbing the oath) was tasteful, dignified, and an indication that that might be changing. I hope so. We need to respect and encourage our president regardless of our positions on their policies.
Comment by: Eliza
7:-)
I am so happy that we now have a president who seems to: think, ask, listen, question, seek justice, & welcome dialogue.
I was seeing patients, didn’t catch Obama’s speech, but I did hear Rick Warren’s invocation and the flubbed oath on the radio, and caught the rhyming at the end of Lowery’s benediction (classic African-American preaching style, isn’t it?).
Rick Warren sounded nervous - did he look that way? I was disappointed by his turning it into a Christian invocation, though appreciated that he presented JC as the one who had changed his life, without implying the same was necessary for everyone.
And I was taken aback on hearing this line from Rick Warren (via radio, no visuals): “We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.” To my unchurched ears, that sounded like a line from a funeral service (knock on wood)!
Comment by: Helen
8Thanks for your comment, Irritable.
Bob, I agree that President Obama wants to restore the dignity of the office - and he certainly seems to be taking steps to restore respect for the US in other countries. Which I’m very pleased to see. I appreciate how you and others who may not agree with the President’s policies are determined to respect and encourage him nevertheless.
Eliza, actually I thought Rick sounded confident rather than nervous. Your comment about him turning it into a Christian invocation is interesting. You perhaps have no idea what a big deal that is to conservative Christians - they would have been extremely disappointed with him if he had not prayed specifically in Jesus’ name. He would have betrayed the core of what conservative Christians stand for unless he’d included Jesus somehow. Their goal is to use Jesus’ name and there’s no acceptable excuse for not using it.
I didn’t think of funerals when I heard that line about the President’s family - but maybe it’s because I’m used to evangelical prayers. However, I liked Rev Lowery’s less formal lines about the President’s family better - “Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.”
Comment by: Anisha
9I was lucky in that my professor decided that nothing he could say would be as important as the inauguration, so he let class out early!
Irritable, I think you’re right about Obama having a great sense of civic religion, and his speech certainly reflected that. I loved what he said about foreign powers: “Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”
Since I am also relatively unchurched, Rick Warren’s invocation sounded foreign to me, especially “committing them” to god’s care, but Dr. Lowery’s was simple and accessible to all.
Comment by: Doreen
10Overall, I couldn’t help but think how many mouths the $150M could feed. I felt terrible for the many who came from far away, had tickets, waited in line forever, and could not get in to the Mall for the inauguration.
I expected Rick Warren to pray in Jesus’ name (Christians of a certain belief system have to). I did not expect him to pray for so long, nor did I expect him to invoke The Lord’s Prayer, in and of itself so devisive with its Roman Catholic and Protestant versions. I thought he made it all about his beliefs and Rev. Lowery made it all about everyone. Pity so many white people feel insulted, not understanding his style.
Very cool that the new President included non-believers as he did consistently throughout his campaign. His speech was shorter than I expected and I was happy it was so serious and somber.
I volunteered Tues. night at the ball a millionnaire put on for disadvantaged people (unemployed, Katrina/Rita, wounded vets, etc.). That was the highlight of my week.
As an aside - Caroline Kennedy seems very immature - “you can’t break up with me, I’m breaking up with you”?
Comment by: Jonathan
11In response to the thoughts on John Quincy Adams, Lincoln, and past president’s connections with religion, it is true that many past presidents did not discuss or promote their individual religious beliefs, and were in fact far closer to deists in their public language than the overt Christians we find in office today on both sides of the isle. Many former presidents believed that personal faith had no place in government nor in public discourse (although Washington, Lincoln, Adams and others appear to have been devout Christians in private, according to their letters). But in many ways Obama seems to be a return to the tradition of the 19th and early 20th century presidents such as Wilson and FDR, persons who served the people first and God second. Insights into Obama’s views can be found in his honest and open interview with Cathleen Falsani in 2004 where he seems to identify himself as a universalist or deist rather than as a Christian, saying that, ““I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people…There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they’re going to hell.” Falsani adds, “Obama doesn’t believe he, or anyone else, will go to hell. But he’s not sure he’ll be going to heaven, either.” In many ways, this might be a very refreshing change for both the political scene and for Christians. Maybe Christians will finally realize that the White House is not where they should look for guidance, or for Jesus, and that they should likely get the hell out of politics…in more ways than one:)…and instead focus on helping the poor and the hurting as Jesus did, following in the steps of Jesus rather than trying to stand in the shadow of the capital dome. I think people are far more interested in finding out about who Jesus really is when he’s not being misappropriated to support the agenda of another politician or cloak their ambitions in the respectability of religion.
Comment by: Helen
12Doreen, I didn’t realize people had tickets but couldn’t get in - what a disappointment for them.
How wonderful that you volunteered at a ball for the disadvantaged on Tuesday night - way to go!
Jonathan, thanks for your comment. I agree that if more Christians focused on helping the poor and hurting rather than trying to advance political agendas, that would make a more positive impression on people who aren’t Christians. Of course some Christians do focus on helping the poor and hurting already and I’m glad they do.