Go Barack Obama...

At least, that's one sign that a Montessori child wrote today when deciding what to write for our inauguration party. Well, less of a party and more of a group of squirmy preschool kids being shushed every few minutes, when more than a four or five minute lapse between speech and applause was causing interest to wane, as the kids loved the clapping part, of course! I for one was just teary at the thought that Barack Obama was being sworn in and addressing the nation for the first time as our President. I can't believe I am excited about a President...and it's more than just a crush, though I do admit to getting giggly more than once about his handsomeness. However, it is the fact that he speaks to my most passionate beliefs about being part of a great nation instead of a confederacy of morons, to paraphrase another author , that really gets my heart pumping and not his good looks.
Listening to his speech without seeing him, just letting the words percolate and simmer down in my mind as each one led into the next, I was just elated, for the very first time in my life, to be American. More than that--I believed him. I heard what he said about a call to action, and about working for the good of others rather than the benefit of ourselves or a select few. I agreed with his outlook for new, green technologies and the idea of putting science and spirit on a similar track, by being cognisant of what our effect on our earth will be beyond the immediate. I was grateful when he spoke of the need for communication to lead the way to peace, not violence. When he extended his hand to all nations and told the world that on this day, we are once again a country that will be guided by our ideals and not by what turns a profit, which as we've seen, can also topple.
I was awed when he spoke of the need for radical change in this country, for accessible health care, for better schools. And like many of us, I am sure, I felt a renewal of the promise of the American Dream. As a parent, he reminded me that a most important part of my job is raising a child who is ready to be a compassionate and integral part of his society. As an educator, I heard the challenge of letting children learn in freedom, with the best possible methods of acquiring wisdom along with knowledge to make informed choices for their generation. Hopefully the blueprint is coming for them to follow from the nation's capitol. Now with a leader who has a vision and seems determined, we'll get to see the change we've been wishing for, not in a minute but with time and effort, and a change in the way we view things. A new perspective is just what we've banked our hopes on. Go Barack Obama, Go! And the rest of us, we're going to need to be that change, too.