I wondered about the word inauguration so I looked it up.
Inauguration is not for the birds, but it used to be.
Starting 2.5 millenia ago in the Roman Republic, the Latin verb inaugurare meant to take omens from bird flight, or to consecrate a significant event or action after consulting the gurus of bird flight. An augur is a seer, soothsayer, or prophet, relied on to interpret the will of the gods by observing the flight patterns of birds.
For us today, inauguration means the formal induction into office, or a formal beginning or introduction. Today we rely a lot less on avian whims to make our bigger decisions and officially commit our democratically elected leaders into public office.
This week's inauguration may have had some minor blemishes (a supreme court justice so conservative he hadn't completely memorized how to swear properly; world class musicians who needed to finger-synch due to the cold) but in several ways this event had the aura of unprecedented significance.
On Tuesday, there we were, watching ourselves in slow motion... one of the most culturally and racially diverse nations in the world; yet with a not so distant history of practicing slavery and blatant racial segregation; and with an ongoing struggle today for racial and economic justice; and having undertaken some recent and highly dubious activities in our small world; and to top it off, our economic portrait was taken just weeks ago and as it turns out, our greed and instant gratification was showing.
In this context, there we were (in slow motion), following the election of 43 consecutive white male presidents by electing and inaugurating a black male president for the first time.
And not just any black male president, no token national act of penance here; this is a young, intelligent, articulate, approachable, creative, focused, inspiring, and highly energetic president who politically speaking came almost out of nowhere.
I know not everyone voted for Obama or agrees with all his persuasions. While we shouldn't supress the significance of his election and inauguration, the time will come for Obamaphoria to rightfully subside as some of the hardest challenges facing our nation are tackled by our two flawed parties. Obama will make mistakes. Along the road, we all will hopefully learn some big lessons and accomplish some important things under his leadership.
Any way you cut it, Tuesday was quite a day. The birds were watching us do the right thing without consulting them.
Last thought for today: I also was thinking, after the Inauguration, about oaths. Oaths seem good on one hand, making a solemn pledge to something, with accountability. On the other hand, Jesus said, "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
Is taking an oath wrong? Or does it have its place?
