As millions of people all around the world, I, too, was watching as Obama pronounced his Oath, his Adress and walked down Penn Ave. to get to his new residence: the White House. It has been said many times by many people how touching and moving it was to see him become President at all effects...and for me it was not different. I was glued to Cnn.live in my laptop and Cnn on TV.
I liked his Adress: it was beautiful. I believe Obama has an impressive power with words and discourse. I've learnt, though, he is not the only author of his dicourses. It seems Jon Favreau, 27, one of Obama's biggest fans, helped the President write some of the famous speeches of the campaign. You can find out more on this by entering the Guardian webpage. Apparently young Jon Favreau, who was the Valedictorian for his class at Holy Cross College, meets with Obama to get the President's guidelines for the speech and then, counting on a team that does reaserch for him, gathers information to finally sit down with his lap top and a black cofee in one of DC Starbucks and do the writing. When it gets late, he writes from a simple and empty student apartment near DC and he stays up until late at night to write under the influence of many black coffees and red bulls. I'd say this is kinda common practice among workers in DC :P
I will copy here just some of the best parts (in my opinion) of the 44th President's speech. I consider these as the best parts because they deal with some values and beliefs of the American culture that really strucked me and that I've learned to understand and admire.
You can read the whole thing on the White House website. There you can also watch the video at a higher quality.
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
(...)
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken -- you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. (Applause.)
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. (Applause.)
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. (Applause.)
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
(...)
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.
What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (Applause.)
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