THE WAY I SEE IT: THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH

I have been hearing all kinds of different opinions about the President's second inaugural speech. I for one felt that his speech was Right On and one that I hope is carried out. Some Republican's have said that his speech was an attack on the Republican party. In my opinion, it is the Republican's that are and have been attacking the President but that is for another blog. The other statements that I have heard are that this speech one of I want or one of I will. After all inaugural speeches are all about agenda's of the President. Who knows given that the Republican majority in the house has yet to work with the President to help the American people. We the people can only hope that some if not all of the President's speech comes to fruition. I am going to break down some of what I feel are the important points of the President's inaugural speech and say why I feel that they're important to me.

{"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a King with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.}

I am really glad that the President put a portion of the Declaration of Independence in his speech.  I feel that we have somehow gotten away from this declaration. We as a people MUST have equality but it is up to us to get it. We must protect our government from the rule of a few because at the end of the day we are the people. 

{Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers. Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play. Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life's worst hazards and misfortune.}

This to me says alot about where our country should be heading in this century. When the President had a majority in the house and senate this was happening. We were building our infrastructure.  When massive storms arise it is up to our country to give relief money no matter if it is a Blue or Red state. The President made a speech at the DNC years ago where he said "This is not a blue state or a red state this is the United States." That holds true today. Also medicare, medicaid and social security must be maintain. We pay into social security it is not an entitlement it is something that we have paid into for all the years that we work.

{We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failing to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But Americans cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.}

This is probably the part where the Republicans feel that the President was attacking them. Most if not all the Republicans do not believe in climate change because they don't  believe in science. This is a TRUE statement. What other reason could we be having these wacky weather changes and horrible storms that seem to be getting worse.? Sustainable energy sources would be such a fantastic accomplishment for the United States. We could cut down of foreign oils and maintain our homes with solar energy so many possibilities could be had. Many other countries are figuring this out and some are implementing it. The United States should be the leader but instead because of the majority of Republicans in Congress we are not. They are holding us back.

{We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully-not because we are naive about the dangers we face but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.}

This is so true for me as well. We don't have to have the good ole boy mentality that George Bush did in his Presidency. We should not be known as the bully nation but the peaceful nation. Peace goes so much farther. The President has done this with many other nations. He has bridged a gap to other countries that once did not want to be bridged with us. He has formed alliances that never could have been formed.

{We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths-that all of us are created equal-is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.}

Let me go through each one of these just in case no one knows the meaning behind them. I guess you might say it will be a refresher course for those that do know and a learning experience for those who don't. 
I must confess I did not know what Seneca Falls was about until my wife Kathy told me. Then I looked it up to find out more. Seneca Falls was an early and influential women's-right convention, the first to be organized by women in the Western world in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19-20, 1848. It was made up of a radical Quaker group of women and a non-Quaker women.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention
Selma to Montgomery marches. When white resistance to black voters proved intractable, the DCVL requested the assistance of Martin Luther King, Jr and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who brought many prominent civil rights and civic leaders to support voting rights. The first march took place on March 7, 1965 (BLOODY SUNDAY) when 600 civil rights marchers protesting against the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and denial of voting rights were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. The second march, the following Tuesday, resulted in 2,500 protesters turning around after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The third march started March 16. The marchers averaged 10 miles a day along route 80 known in Alabama as the Jefferson Davis Highway. Protected by 2,000 soldiers of the US Army, 1,900 members of the Alabama Natl Guard under Federal command, and many FBI agents and Fed marshals, they arrived in Montgomery on March 24 and at the Alabama State Capitol on March 25. The route is memoralized as the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Trail, a US National Historic Trail.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/Stonewall_riots

This to me was the most meaningful part of the President's speech for me. Mostly because it showed me that he really does care about We The People as a whole no matter what our backgrounds and/or our individual selves are made up of. We are all a part of humanity no matter if we are women, African American and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) people. It made my heart feel good when he mentioned all these different fights that we have made just to gain some rights because that is what we deserve as part of this country. My opinion is that it is Past Time for this to become a reality and he is making a really good start of it. He is the only President that has ever mentioned the LGBT community in an inaugural address and I feel Proud and honored.

{It is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law-for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.}

Now the President covered many things in this portion of his speech. Some of which I feel sure the Republicans feel was an attack on their beliefs.  The very first thing the President did when he took office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN on January 29,2009. Times have changed it is no longer a man's world in the work place. We have single mothers now with mouths to feed. We have career women who have gone to college to work in executive positions. This is no longer the world of "Mad Men".  We the LGBT community should be able to freely and openly love the ones that we love and we should have the right to marry them and be protected under the law. Immigrants that come to this country should be able to stay in this country if they work hard and want to become citizens. They should not be separated from their children if they were born here that is just plain WRONG in my opinion and YES we should have stronger gun laws to protect our children and our adults. We should have an assault weapons ban just like we did in the 1990's when gun violence was lower than it is now. All these issues are important if we want to move on and honor our fore fathers in this century.

{For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.}

This for me was the President having what I call a "come to Jesus meeting" meaning the time is now to get to work and stop delaying progress you Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats! Also that there are so many things to get done that it is not possible to do it all in four years especially since he has gotten no cooperation from these two entities and it is just shameful to me and to other American's I am sure.

{My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction-and we must faithfully execute the pledge during the duration of our service.}

I love this portion because it does say it all to me. This is about serving this country and it's people not serving the rich and powerful. I am sure that the Republicans felt that this was another attack by the President because it seems that during this election cycle the billionaires had all the money and power trying to buy their guy. This is just an observation by me and these are what I feel that this election was all about. But the good news is that they didn't get away with it because the American people spoke when they re-elected President Barack Hussein Obama for a second term.
*http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/21/transcript-president-obama-2013-inaugural-address/

These are my thoughts and feelings from Jillsville.