As I drove down I95 in South Carolina I had the pleasure of listening to the President’s inaugural speech. I, like my father, tend to be emotional; not surprisingly, I was moved. I was in Charleston SC at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for training; during this training we briefly covered the 4th and 5th amendments. In a previous post I reverence the 2nd amendment. With this inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. day the founding documents seem even more relevant and significant.
We have a beautiful document and a history of working toward more freedom and more liberty for the People of this great nation. I won’t recount this journey for it was long and hard. But in some states we have extended the promise of equal treatment under the law to our “gay brothers and sisters” as President Obama pointed out. While more will always need to be done, we can’t pretend that we haven’t come so far. I remember walking in my first Pride Parade when I was 6 years old.
“We, the People,” this has such power for me. We are the people, there are no leaders and followers, there are no men greater then you or I, there are no women more powerful then you or I.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”
– President Barak Obama 2013 Inaugural Address
Its days like this that I am so proud to be an America. I am in the company of equally great men and powerful women – and we all walk in the shadows of giants. As a military member I know too well the oath we take to this country, as the grandson of an immigrant I am proud of the oath my grandfather took, I am proud of my father and brother who took this oath before me, I am proud of my mother who takes the oath every day she teaches. I am proud of all the citizens who work to make this country a better place for people who live here and for the citizens of every other country. Just because we disagree doesn’t mean we don’t have the best interest of this great nation in mind.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction — and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
– President Barak Obama 2013 Inaugural Address
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Restorative Justice Center of the Northwest 