Today is historic

Today Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. The Inauguration will be a very positive moment for the entire country, really the entire world since all eyes are on Washington right now.

Of course I'm sad I won't be seeing the Inauguration in person in Washington, DC, but I guess I can take solace in the fact that inaugural ceremonies happen every four years. Being part of the Obama movement, or generation, if you will, is also about a lot more than standing outside in the cold for five hours (although I give major props for everyone who is doing it; I'm sure it will be worth it, and I'm insanely jealous). Instead, I will be watching live (hopefully) from the computer lab at the political science faculty before my last class of the semester, since I'm too insane to let it go since I have to take the exam and really don't know what will be on it.

Today is a day for celebration. The U.S. has not miraculously overcome our race problems since a majority of the electorate voted for the son of a white woman from Kansas named Stanley and a black man from faraway Kenya, but we have taken a huge step, and we set a better example for the world. Obama is an excellent orator. Listening to him speak, sometimes you do feel as though he could cure all of our country's ills, which is probably why my youthful idealism led me to support his candidacy from even before it was official. We must consider, however, the immense challenges of the presidency, especially at this particular moment in time. The world is mired in a recession. The situation in the Middle East is a mess, from the one we created in Iraq to the conflict in Gaza. Not to mention that both the healthcare and education systems in the U.S. basically need to be completely reformed. Or that we have never really addressed immigration. Or the environment. I could go on, so while we should certainly celebrate today and demand much from the man who promised us hope and change over the course of the next four years, we cannot set him up to fail with unrealistic expectations. He is not God.

On a very too-much-information level, I would like to make the following comment: my first period arrived on election day 2000. This morning was the end of my cycle.