My Reaction to Inauguration 2009

By Tony Mazur

History was made today in America. Scratch that. Around the world. Change had occurred, and not just because a new administration is taking over. It seemed like patriotism had returned for the time being. While the day seemed like a joyous occasion, I have a couple of issues with the media and the American people.

On T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers across Spencer's locations throughout the nation, we've seen the slogan "1/20/09: Bush's Last Day" prominently displayed. I understand that the citizens may be exhausted after eight years of the same president, but I was absolutely disgusted with what I heard on television. Instead of respecting the fact that this was George W. Bush's last hoorah, onlookers heckled the former president and the former first lady, along with Dick Cheney and his wife, with "boos" and other juvenile chants.

Another thing that annoyed me occurred all day. This phony patriotism has all of a sudden popped up. People who would usually stand silent during "The Star-Spangled Banner" were joining arms and belting out the National Anthem, with tears streaming down their faces. Why, out of nowhere, did you start to feel a sense of pride in our nation? You didn't before. What's the reason? Because your president is black? Because it's not a Republican?

My biggest issue of the day was the fact that I felt left out. As the rest of the country unites (or at least that's what the media would like you to think), I feel like an alien. I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. I have pride in my country and I hope for the best in each and every one of us, but I don't feel included with all of this "change" and "hope" that is going around.

I'm not sure if anyone caught this, but I was offended by the majority of Reverend Joseph Lowery's benediction. I found it to be incredibly racist and by no means acceptable for any inauguration. Listen in at 4:46. He may be representing race in a humorous light, but it was a completely irrelevant statement for 2009. At 5:03 in the video below, Lowery tells the "whites to embrace what's right". I found that to be racist because many white people do embrace what is right. I believe it was another shot at whitey for keeping the poor minorities down. What a scumbag.



By the way, did EVERY black person in America vote for Obama? By watching the newscasts, it seemed like the entire black population voted him in there. Judge not by the color of one's skin? Give me a break.

What has really touched a nerve with me is the amount of people calling ME unpatriotic. I received a message from a friend of mine who accused me of being hateful. I mentioned sarcastically via Facebook that I cannot wait for four more years of biased media coverage and speeches that lack substance. Here is the response verbatim:

"hey, quit complainin and have faith in this country, cant change whats happened so you need to support him, even if he isnt your guy and hope he helps change things around a lil"

I'll be honest. I have pride in the country itself, but I do not trust or respect both the government and the American people. I don't feel united. I feel secluded. I hope President Obama follows through with his promises, although I do not think it's going to happen.

All in all, Inauguration Day 2009, for me, was boring. So was 2004, 2000, 1996, 1992, etc. Today was the icing on the Obama butt-kissing festival. But I'm not going to whine and complain like the liberals did for the last eight years. For the next four years, I will support the office of the president, but I will certainly not see eye-to-eye with Mr. Obama.