at last!

four days into obama's administration, and it's hard to not get swept up in the national sigh of relief. i've got to remind myself there are problems that will have to be dealt with (closing guantanamo may have unforeseeable consequences, legislation pushed by the administration for 'transparency and accountability' in the white house may be clouded by double standards surrounding lobbyists, etc), and the questioning of presidential and legislative decisions must never be abandoned. but even the appearance of accessibility to information--hopefully just the prelude to its actuality--is like the lightening of a load that had been present for so long you almost forgot it was there.

a new american era has arrived. during the inauguration ceremony, which i experienced with a ridiculous amount of other berkeley and oakland residents and students packed into the history-soaked sproul plaza of uc berkeley, i sang along with the national anthem. the last time i remember doing that was in the aftermath of 9-11. but the surge in patriotism this time around, however cheesy and exponentially cliché it is, is founded on hope instead of fear: a search for unity for ourselves, and not to be a united front against a malicious other.

but of course, the best part of the whole thing was aretha's hat, obamafied here--and rev. joseph lowery's benediction. you can't help but get choked up about it--40 years ago, citizens of our nation decided it was wrong to keep quiet. and it took us until 2009 to take this sort of symbolic step towards the hope for equality. the hope for equal opportunity, equal access to rights, equal access to benefits for all who have been restricted them. it took us 40 years to do it, but we may finally be going in the right direction.

yes. i'm proud to be american.