so long, federalism

today was a day to remember. i'll tell my children's children that i was there when history was made, that i was one of the 1.4 million people who went to see the first black president sworn in.

my roommate and i got up at an ungodly hour this morning and proceeded to join the masses, willingly being pulled along by the current flowing towards the National Mall. these past few days (i also went through a similar experience to attend the customary concert at the Lincoln Memorial) have been a time to bond with Americans...to sing along together of the old days and look forward together towards the new. i have been encouraged, proud, disappointed, and angry. this weekend was emotional, to say the least. i felt obligated to be a part of the inaugural goings-on simply because of my proximity and the inherent importance of the event. the concert was fun, and i've learned that the crowds are first American, and secondly for a particular party or viewpoint.

and today, as i stood, cold and uncomfortable, waiting for the ceremony to begin, it was no different. vanessa and i chatted with the strangers around us as we swayed back and forth to keep our limbs from becoming stiff. the excitement in the air was tangible, and the announcer began to call out the names and groups of important people entering the scene from the capitol...representatives, senators, former presidents and vice presidents...i didn't cheer along with the liberals around me for jimmy carter or ted kennedy, but then again, i certainly didn't act disrespectfully towards them. in not clapping or cheering, but simply standing and acknowledging, i am showing honor the institution that these people represent and honoring their service in that capacity. i thought the rest of the crowd could do the same, but, once again, republicans show much more integrity in general. when president bush walked out there was an audible booing (at which point, i glared at everyone around me and made a few shocked comments), and vice president cheney was scorned quite thoroughly. i was appalled and disheartened.

but even despite all of that, it was surreal to watch the inaugural process, the transfer of power in the most influential and prosperous nation in modern times. to be a part of it, even just as a spectator (but really, never JUST as that, for we participate in the true, democratic sense), is exhilarating. i closed my eyes and listened to the gorgeous notes of an arrangement of "air and simple gifts" drift out over the mall (yo-yo ma and itzhak perlman!) and danced a little to aretha franklin belting out "my country tis of thee." rick warren, somewhat surprisingly, gave a very Christian prayer, calling out to Jesus, Yeshua, "the Lord our God, the Lord is one." he gave all up for God's glory, and ended with a sober acknowledgment of the inevitability of nations to answer to the Almighty in the final day. and, in a crowd that moments before gave a hateful reception to the leaving president (a crowd, which i can guarantee for the most part, would have given vague and inarticulate answers for why they acted this way if asked), i heard "amen's" and "yes, lord's"...indeed, this is a nation where theistic is still employable, even though it is not fully understood.

i was overcome, at that moment, for my nation. and as i had the last few glimpses of president bush before obama's swearing-in and stretched to see the capitol in all of its decorated glory, tears sprang to my eyes. God gave us an integral, principled, hard-working leader for such a time as these last eight, tumultuous years. he was a beacon of resolve when we were a ship without a light, and i believe his faith made him able for the hardships of his presidency. i haven't agreed with all of his decisions, but i am thankful that he strived to do everything that he truly believed was right. there will always be a special place in my heart for him, because the 2000 election was when i first felt a sort of calling to the political sphere and became involved in a campaign i could believe in. i still remember the night julia and i waited with bated breath for the election results, praying and hoping for his ascendency to such a high office. he's been my president through high school and college - truly formative years - and am thankful...there really are no more words.

c.s. lewis wrote that, forgive my sad attempt at paraphrasing, when the good is something to be invented, then we ask for leaders who are creative, who are visionaries. but when the good is known and understood, then we ask for leaders who are virtuous and diligent.

i believe president bush has been the latter kind, and that, in this relativistic age, we have received what we deserve in the visionary barack obama.

as a young conservative, i am yet inspired. this is what america is all about, however distorted we have made some of her privileges...this raw sort of fight for freedom, amongst a people who are already free. we are allowed a struggle only because of the foundations that hold us up. i want to enter this scene, this truly exceptional scene in which i may uphold a centuries-old tradition that is devoted to what is natural to the human spirit by speaking, by writing, by participating.

i want to be a journalist, a speechwriter, a politician, a hard worker, an enjoyer of this dream, always an American. i want to use what i know to appeal to our leadership and steer us back onto a more true trajectory. but, thank God, i have in mind the whole of our existence and the life of the world and this precariously-balanced common grace that preserves us in order to glorify our Creator. that informs my approach, and i want to influence culture so that it may inform other hearts and minds...those that will be the leaders of the future.

at the commissioning ceremony of the john jay institute, as i was kneeling with the other fellows and the congregation sang all around us, father crippen chuckled and whispered to those of us nearest him: "feel that weight? it's the weight of glory." oh how i felt it. and i have felt it ever since. may this burden so heavy on my back never become a nuisance that i wish to ignore, but rather something that constantly inspires me (and my fellow Americans) to be true to the unique calling of a nation such as ours.

federalism may be disappearing, but, in America, change (to coin obama's one-word campaign) is always possible.