Columnsit James Ingram
Five years ago, when I introduced my readers to Barack Obama, I knew that the skinny black guy with the African name was a special individual and politician.
However, never in my wildest imagination did I imagine that in 2009 on a freezing January day in Washington D.C. I would witness Obama’s swearing in as the nation’s first African-American president.
Now the whole world knows just how unique, accomplished and dignified that President Obama and his beautiful family truly are.
Sure, I attended the Million Man March back in 1995 and witnessed a similar-sized crowd (about 2 million), though somehow everyone managed to misrepresent the true attendance that day.
The MMM was primarily black men. Obama’s inauguration was a quilt of black, white, red, brown and yellow from every corner of America and from every remote region of the globe.
Celebrities were relegated to being just plain United States citizens, having to sublimate their egos in deference to the true star of the day – President Obama.
VIP’s, despite having tickets, had to endure the same lines and inconveniences as the average folks and, frankly, I rather enjoyed it.
The bourgeois and the elite waited in long Metro (public transportation) lines in their fur coats and formal attire trying to make it to the myriad inaugural balls. President Obama truly united the masses by a common thread of inconvenience; and that’s not all bad.
As I proudly watched President Obama take his oath, observed outgoing President Bush being serenaded by a chorus of boos (for eight years of ineptitude), I reflected on this historical moment, juxtaposed with the symbolism of what I was witnessing.
President Bush made incompetence and a lack of intellect the norm for the two terms of his presidency. He destroyed the economy, lured America into needless wars and twiddled his thumbs as an American city drowned following Hurricane Katrina.
As Bush’s helicopter flew over the crowd for his departure, the crowd celebrated his exit with chants of “Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, Goodbye !” My sentiments exactly.
By comparison, President Obama has restored hope to America and the entire world. His calm, dignified, confident and intellectual comportment has caused the international community to sit up and take notice.
I watched tears of joy stream down the cheeks of 70- and 80-year-old black men and women who braved the crowds and the cold to see this day, and it was riveting.
I’ve never spent so much time in such a diverse crowd, exchanging pleasantries and a sense that FINALLY America got it right.
During the inaugural parade and later, during the formal balls, the world was blown away by the elegance and grace of Barack and Michelle Obama.
Now the real work begins. I hope that Americans, with their short-term memory, will afford President Obama a sufficient grace period to begin to correct the monumental mess left behind by the Bush presidency.
Otherwise, the celebration of last week was a monumental waste of time. Let’s support this young, vibrant, intelligent president as he attempts to right the capsized ship that he has inherited. Failure is not an option.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.