He is not afraid of the other, because the other is in him.

inauguration day 09.

"Obama doesn’t belong to any particular kin. And that’s his greatest strength. America never has had such a candidate. Barack Obama is much more than potentially the first black president of the United States. He is, by his personal experience, a citizen of the world. He needs to listen to the other to better understand himself. He is not afraid of the other, because the other is in him. If he wants to belong to the world, he has to reach out. That’s his gift to the world. And there is no better gift that America can present to global politics at this time."

go read the rest of the odemagazine post by jurrian kamp here

• read a great post by miss musing which is a letter to the president. you can find more from other people here.
• George Washington gave the shortest inaugural address in history. (135 words). go here for more facts about inauguration day.
• read the obama bio and biden bio
• play an inauguration game here

here's the thing. i am not as excited about in inauguration as most. i don't know if i am excited, if that's the word to describe how i feel. i am feeling a few things.

• a huge sense of relief. i am glad he is finally in and can start making changes and i don't have to watch speeches where the preident makes up words.
• nervousness for where he stands on the israel/middle east issue
• hope for all the changes he promises to bring
• hope for him to change everything EXCEPT who he is and what he wants to do
• hope that he will not be scared to make decisions that will help america instead ofworry about a re-election which is where i think most presidents make their mistakes.
• curious on what he will do with gay marriage and the hope he sees it as a right that is part of nations foundation.

oh, who am i kidding, as i drove to school today, i felt the sense that everyone was listening in their cars, watching tv, and that the nation today is one and that i was one with it. was i excited yesterday? no. did the constant tweets annoy me? yes. then suddenly driving, i got it. it clicked with me.

i am excited for barack obama. not his skin color or his age or political party but for the man, for the person who had a dream, the person who united a nation. because really this country was all over the place and no one felt tied to each other. to make this great nation feel pride and hope and feel it all together, that is something that we will always remember. one person can make a difference, a huge difference, and he is it. it isn't a matter of if you love him or hate him, he is the best person for this job and a change has already been made.

today i am proud to be american.