Inauguration Day

As has been public knowledge since I learned to say the word "president," I love politics.

My amazing girlfriend found a contest that lets me throw my metaphorical hat into the metaphorical ring: a chance to win a seat at the inauguration by writing an essay on what this one in particular means to me.

So, for you, I have copied it below. Sure I go with the political science and philosophical underpinnings, but behind it is something I have found to be stronger than ever: pride in my country.

Enjoy.

This historic inauguration holds a number of meanings for an even greater number of people. It is the culmination of President Lincoln’s promise of equality. A milestone in the civil rights movement’s “dream.” For some, as my grandfather noted, that we have “been given back the pride our county had lost,” a pride in the electoral process I felt for the first time in voting for the President-elect. The administration’s attempt at fulfilling these dreams underlies many citizens’ intent in voting for and supporting the inauguration of President-elect Obama.

Personally, all of the previous reasons resonate, but each exists under a challenge presented at the inception of this great nation: “whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force.” In writing this in the opening passages of Federalist No. I, Alexander Hamilton passed on to the electorate a keystone of the American philosophy: that action must be dictated by reason, and that pure happenstance should be avoided in determining our destiny. Hamilton’s sentiment became responsible for the architecture of our American political, social and ideological structures.

President-elect Obama’s inauguration forcefully responds to Hamilton’s query: yes, we can employ reason to aid our society. Yes, we can develop tolerance and a humble regard for beliefs that vary from our own. Yes, we can elect a government not paralyzed by cognitive dissonance, but capable of synthesizing a solution representative of modern America. And, most importantly, yes, we have taken on our duty owed to the world: to aid the global society in their securement of the most important of values, that of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The fulfillment of our potential as the glimmering “city upon a hill” will become the American standard, rather than forceful imposition.

This nation, built along the known edge of the world, has developed into the third largest by population, the wealthiest economically, and the most called upon militarily. International organizations such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund both operate within our borders and through our tax dollars, and yet our position in the world seems to decline each day because of the global acceptance of the “Americana” attitude. President-elect Obama represents an opportunity to refocus our attention to matters of importance both internationally and domestically. This inauguration represents an opportunity for the United States to resecure its place as a leader in peace and prosperity.

President-elect Obama’s inauguration represents both a fulfillment of the historical American ideal of a call to reason, and a clear message to our posterity that America stands for change. Our future, as Americans, has been secured by a return to our foundational ideals. Our past has been fulfilled through the acceptance of change. President-elect Obama offers an opportunity for both the historical and the future America to maintain this balance that we have found.