Words inspire hope for the future
Humble, challenging, eloquent and restrained.
Those words hardly fit in the same sentence, but they
characterize President Barack Obama’s inaugural address, and they
define what the new presidency means to San Benito County.
Words inspire hope for the future
Humble, challenging, eloquent and restrained.
Those words hardly fit in the same sentence, but they characterize President Barack Obama’s inaugural address, and they define what the new presidency means to San Benito County.
During the pre-inaugural concert last Sunday, Jan. 18, Martin Luther King III talked of what a blessing it is that our nation today offers so many opportunities for each of us to serve.
Two days later, during his brief inaugural address, President Obama challenged each of us to seize that opportunity in words reminiscent of President John F. Kennedy’s admonition to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
History will ultimately categorize President Obama’s words this week as historic or inconsequential. But closer to home, the challenge for us all to rise to the challenges before us is timely and deeply resonant.
California and the nation face the greatest economic challenges of our generation. But San Benito County’s challenges are larger. Unemployment and foreclosures eclipse statewide averages. Business closures and cutbacks continue to spread. Demand for social services continues to climb. As we report in this edition, demand for staple foods through the Community Pantry is up one-third again over a year ago.
Even as President Bush watched, Obama had some harsh words for the outgoing administration and all Americans. Today we share the pain of unchecked greed and unregulated business practice. Today we grapple with how to pay the dues of profligate deficit spending. Today we wonder how to navigate a perilous world, and how best to end two wars that long ago stretched longer than our involvement in World War II. Today we wonder how Congress and the nation could sit by while the Bill of Rights itself was compromised.
President Obama’s restrained remarks Tuesday made it clear that he puts little stock in his role as America’s first African-American president. He is, rather, America’s 44th president, and one entering the Oval Office during a time of unprecedented challenge.
And our new president challenged each of us back.
“Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans,” he said. “Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”
It is likely that President Obama’s honeymoon with the electorate will be brief. After eight years of an administration that most Americans view as failed, the nation is impatient for change. Expectations are great, and the obstacles large.
As we all struggle to re-establish our nation, let us remember the inspiring conclusion to President Obama’s address:
“Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter, and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”
