"Proud to be an American"

"If a man is to be called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, 'Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well'."

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's such a beautiful day today. As my yard in Concord, NC is blanketed with snow, the sun is shining, the air is brisk, and the skies are a beautiful shade of Carolina blue. What began as a typical January day in the Piedmont of North Carolina belies the fact that today is a day unlike any other our nation has witnessed. For today, a promise was kept. A dream was realized. A legacy was honored.

Just a few short hours ago, the 44th President of the United States was inaugurated. Barack Obama is no longer President-Elect Obama, the first African American elected to be President, the one who promised Change. As of noon today, he simply became Mr. President.

Most of you know how passionate I am about politics and the system that our forefathers worked so diligently to design to stand the test of the ages. It is a system that allows each citizen of the United States to participate in. Countless young men and women have shed their blood, given the greatest sacrifice, to ensure the continuation of the notion that a government of the people, by the people and for the people would endure.

No doubt, our history has been tainted by the scourge of slavery, the sting of racism, the abuse of power and money, and we have all fallen short in our responsibility to rise to the greater common good that exists in us all as Americans to defend our Constitution. But, I am encouraged by the notion that millions of people all across this nation, young and old, black and white, Asian and Hispanic, liberal and conservative, gay and straight, male and female, Tar Heels and Blue Devils can all look inside ourselves and realize that in reality, it's the little things that divide us--at our core, we all desire the same things.

We want a country we can be proud of--both in what it stands for, what it fights for, and what it inspires in us. We want a leader who uses wisdom to make decisions that will affect not only our families, but his own. We want those we elect to represent us, regardless of whether there is a D or an R by their name on the ballot, to remember that it is each of us who placed them in office. We want them to vote their conscience and realize that the greater good in our local, state and federal governments will always balance against partisanship and ideology.

I encourage each of you who reads this post today to take a moment to pray for President Obama and Vice President Biden, the newly appointed members of the Cabinet, our Senators and members of the House of Representatives. Pray for our nation as we begin the long process of economic recovery and building toward a stronger tomorrow. Pray for our troops who serve in the far reaches of the planet, daily laying their lives on the line in freedom's cause. Pray for each of us as well, that we might stand alongside our President and support him in the causes that we agree with him on, and work to fight for the causes in which we disagree. Most of all, pray for the future of our nation.

President Lincoln once called the United States the "last best hope for earth". Our democracy, so young by all standards, will continue to strengthen with the resolve of the American people. Change has come, yes it has. Just yesterday, we honored Martin Luther King and the fight for civil rights that he helped to champion. Today, his dream has been realized. Barack Obama was never a streetsweeper, but let each of us join him in the cause of leading our nation so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, "Here lives a great President who did his job well."


May God Richly Bless America,
Kara

PS...I couldn't resist adding this picture.

Yep, that's my President playing b-ball with my Heels!!