Watching the inauguration yesterday of President Barack Obama, I felt moved and inspired and once again proud to be an American. It's hard to admit that for the last 8 years I've felt embarrassed to call myself an American. I barely recognized the country I was born in. I was so ashamed of the last administration - ashamed of their violation of human and Constitutional rights and their disregard for the treaty of the Geneva Convention. I was appalled by Bush's apparent disdain and neglect of the environment, by the way he and his administration favored big business and big oil over the common man and the poor people of this country and Bush's apparent disrespect of gays. I was almost dumbstruck by his attempts to create a theocracy out of a democracy, by the way he thumbed his nose at science. He was almost too bad to believe.
When Bush was handed the presidency 8 years ago (I still don't think he earned it), I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. But never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the total hell he'd put our country through. Thanks to him, our country is embroiled in two useless wars, the economy is in shambles, unemployment is at a record high, we're once again saddled with a national debt and most of us have been left wondering what happened to that nest egg we'd put away for our retirement. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll even have a job next year.
With Barack Obama in charge, I once again feel there's hope for our country. I by no means think the next year or two will be easy. If anything, things will probably get worse before they get better. But at least we now have a man of intellect and vision at the helm, somebody with regard for history, an understanding of the Constitution and endowed with a sense of what makes America great. I hope he can get our country back on her feet.
