Not surprising...inaugaration post

When I think about the historical things I've lived through, yesterday is near the top of the list. I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded. And where I was when I heard about the attack on the Twin Towers. I even remember my exact location when it was announced that Brett Favre was retiring. Well, I remember where I was two of the many times he announced his retirement but you get the point...

It's safe to say that I grew up believing in the equality and worth of each human. I attended a very diverse elementary school and never really spent all that much time considering race until college, where I took the mandatory Minority Studies classes. It was an interesting time to reflect on institutional racism and historical oppression as it was about that time I started to question my sexuality. It would be years before I was ready to actually come out but I could see the path from oppression to tolerance to acceptance as marched by other minority groups.

Watching the inauguration, and watching all the other folks that were watching the inauguration, it was unmistakable how our culture, in a very public and societal way, has moved beyond judging a person by the color of their skin. There is no question that racism still exists in very real and horrible ways. And electing an African American President won't change that overnight. Nor will having a female Secretary of State change the culture of sexism. But it does quiet the voices that say "It can't/won't happen". It has happened. And there is still a lot of work to be done. But regardless of the president he becomes, we have changed. We have crossed a line that had never been crossed. We can't come back from that.

I think I've been buying a little too much into the media influence however. I was Very interested to see what Michelle Obama would wear last night. And, of course, she was stunning. And many of the interviews leading up to last night, including a painful one with Katie Couric, had many questions about being a father and a husband with such huge responsibilities. There's no way to answer those questions other than to be gracious and charming. But like everything else with this 44th president, it just seems a little more sincere.

Yesterday was a pretty good day.