Inaugural Rant

I guess most people have the inauguration of our new president, Barak Hussein Obama on their minds. And if you don't, then you found a more peaceful place than most over the last few days. I have never seen such hype in my life!

I have to admit, the only part of the inauguration that I witnessed was what little bit I saw while I was at the gym. And before you call me a sore loser or a racist or an anti social or unpatriotic or whatever, know this; I never watch the inauguration stuff. I like politics but could care less about all of the "pomp and circumstance" junk. Call me practical to the point of boredom, but I just can rationalize all of the time, effort, and money spent on all of that stuff while there are so many other needs of so many real people. That and the fact that I just don't care for a lot of ceremony. I like tradition, but the inauguration stuff is not really tradition to me, just an asinine ritual.

I do have some thoughts on the whole ordeal though. And for starters, Obama is still more of a celebrity than a serious leader at this point. I realize that he hasn't has time to do any real work, but all of the chanting and crying and melodrama reminded me of the footage of teenage girls crying at a Beatles concert. It was like Elvis being on the Ed Sullivan show. I kept expecting someone to yell "Freebird", hold their lighters high in the air, and start throwing undergarments onto the stage... Unbelievable.

And it seems that the people who were up in arms about Rick Warren's prayer could rest easier last night, since he didn't do much praying. I managed to see a little of that spectacle between sit-ups and leg presses. What a shame that was. I hope praying is not getting in front of a bunch of people and reading some political/social stuff off of an index card. If it is, then I am in trouble. The part of the "prayer" that I saw mentioned God and everything, but it still came across as an interview for Billy Graham's old job. I have mentioned before that I am no big fan of Rick Warren. I don't think that he is a bad man and only he and God know his heart. But I have always had an odd feeling about him. Not in the sense of corruption, but none the less, a negative gut feeling...but what do I know? And he has done a lot of good things for a lot of people. But still...

I do think that the phrase, "swearing in" was appropriate because I am certain that there was a lot of swearing going on yesterday. I also imagine the stock in Pepto Bismal rose.

Speaking of Pepto, what is with the celebrities? Now it is o.k. to be patriotic and concerned for he country. Now it is fashionable to support the president. All of a sudden it is in vogue to speak of forgiveness and moving forward. Wow! Of course no one really listens to them anyway, except schoolgirls and children. And if they were very good at their trade they would have probably been at at work yesterday...

And what does "new beginning" mean? How can a beginning be anything but a beginning? And aren't all beginnings new, logically? Nothing is a priori to the beginning or it would be in the middle and not a beginning. Unless it is the end. And why are we all of a sudden having this renaissance of, and in, chronology? It sounds like more rhetoric to me, and not very sound rhetoric at that. Rhetoric or Hollywood nonsense; like a made for t.v. movie. Maybe that's what we should call this era, "The After School Special, Era of Presidency", where all of your problems are solved in fifty minutes and no one remembers anything bad...I think A New Beginning has been used many times before. And it never makes sense to me. But what do I know?

I do have to say, much to the chagrin of my conservative readers, that I am ready for Bush to leave office. I am ready to have all of the blame of the world taken away by his leaving office. I do not know who will be the scapegoat now. Actually, I do... It will be George W. Bush.

I am also ready for Bush to go back to Texas because his second term was an absolute fiasco. Especially the bailout and the appointment of Hank Paulson. But the disappearing act that the former president performed the last 3 years is appalling. I do realize the media bias against him was ridiculous, but he did little to help his cause or to help us in our daily lives. Maybe I am being unfair, but he really fizzled out down the stretch in my opinion. I think history will be kinder to him than people think and I think that he had a lot of accomplishments that were ignored. But I am still disappointed at most of his second term.

And I am ready for change. Not in the Obama, fairly tale way. But real change. But I don't see any positive change coming down the pike. And that is not just a jab at Obama. There are no real leaders anymore; or very few at best. And not just in our government, but in our workplaces and our churches as well. But that may be a topic for a different day. But I do hope and pray for change. But not in the form of nationalization or redistribution. And not change based on words of speech writers and spin doctors.

And putting all of my pessimism and sarcasm aside, I always have to remind myself of the same things when I get to this point of frustration in my thoughts: God is in control. And pray for our leaders. And pray for each other. God loves all of us and Jesus died for all of us and the Holy Spirit will guide all of us, is we listen.

I know that it may seem odd to end such a diatribe with words about God and prayer, but it is sincere. And I hope it shows a process that I try to live my life by; when I get full of myself and my own opinions that I need to focus on something bigger and something of purpose.

I realize that my opinions are just my opinions. Thank God I am in a place where I can express them. Thank God for friends that accept me for who I am, even though they disagree and think that I am full of hot air. And thank God for all of the soldiers, past and present, who serve so that I may enjoy these freedoms.

And it is in these things of God, friends, and family that my hope rests. It may not be historical but it is no less important. And there is nothing that needs to be changed about that.