In the crowd was a diverse group of people who represent the vision of equality that our founding fathers believed in. Standing just centimeters apart were blacks and whites, men and women, Christians and Muslims, first- and tenth-generation immigrants; those who fought for a better future for their young stood alongside those very youths, sharing the benefits of others’ bloodshed and unrelenting hope.
Withstanding bitter temperatures alongside strangers whose rights mirrored theirs made the unknown seem that much more comforting; color and creed meant nothing to a crowd that solemnly stood in solidarity, listening to a man whom the American public believes can move the nation forward to a brighter horizon.
One million citizens stood for hours in the cold weather this past Monday, Jan. 21, eagerly awaiting the historic ceremony that takes place every four years at the U.S Capitol – the Presidential Inauguration.
Kathryn Shields, a senior political science and communication major at Fairmont State University, was among those gathered. Shields had attended the 10-day 2013 Presidential Inauguration seminar held at the Washington Center along with 674 students from across the country.
“I wasn’t actually going to come to the inauguration. But I got tickets yesterday and we decided to not miss the opportunity,” Shields said. “It’s a really cool experience to be here with people from all over the country, with people who are really excited to be here and really excited to share in this with each other. This is a day of America. It’s about the American citizen.”
The message Barack Obama shared with the American people conveyed the unity and equality of our forebears.
“We affirm the promise of our democracy,” Obama said. “We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
He indicated that the country has endless possibility to grow but for that to happen, we need to work together as a society.
“No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future,” he explained. “Or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.”
Richard Blanco, the first inaugural poet to be an immigrant, the first to be an openly gay male, as well as the youngest, made history by reading a profound reflection about his own struggles in life as well as those of American society as a whole. From having an African American president, to this innovative and barrier-breaking poet, proves how diverse and inclusive our nation has become.
‘Faith in America’s Future’ was the theme for the 57th inauguration and honored the placement of the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Dome. During the Civil War, when Lincoln was in office, the half-created dome was said to represent the nation being split in two. In 1863, the dome was finished and Lincoln stated, “If people see the Capitol going on, it is a sign we intend the Union shall go on.”
