OK, I promised myself to not rant about the jingoism, the patriotic balderdash, the ignorance of the rest of the world that can lead a speaker to say “Only in America” and ignore Mandela and the struggle in South Africa. I promised to set aside my knowledge that politics is compromise, and that he will undoubtedly break our hearts.
I raised a glass with my neighbors. I tried to tell the kids, fairly, what was happening and why it was important. I put on the ceremonial Bush T-shirt to remove and the celebratory Obama T-shirt to put on.
And I loved the man, and the moment, and the fact that we have someone in the white house who mentions non-violent struggle in his inaugural speech, who knows how badly we need change, and who is without doubt, of all the broken choices, the best hope for America.
