Inauguration Day

Today was a weird day. It felt like a holiday. I tried to watch the inauguration festivities at work, online. Everyone else had the same idea, apparently - there wasn't enough bandwidth to go around. But what I saw was pretty impressive.

I guess I don't remember Bush's inaugurations. I mean, vaguely I do, but not the details. And I don't remember the coverage that today's events have gotten. All day long on some channels. And msnbc and cnn, along with my local news channels, had on-demand video all day. Not that I could watch it all...

I did get to see the swearing-in. I saw part of Obama's speech. I saw thousands of happy people. I think that this celebration is reflective of the country's attitude. There seems to be an optimism that hasn't been obvious for a while.

I didn't get to see the parade, but I did see that the Obamas walked more of the parade route than was expected (much to the dismay of the Secret Service, I'm sure). Then I watched part of the Neighborhood Ball this evening. I saw the first dance as the First Family. I remember when I was younger, the thing was to hold up lighters - everyone here held up digital cameras.

My point is this: throughout today's events, the Obamas showed themselves again and again to be real people. I'm not sure yet how that will come through in his leadership or his legacy - it will be interesting to see. But I think that for the first time in decades, we have a president that is "of the people."

I'm not generally vocal about my political or ideological views, and I don't mean this to be a political commentary. It is more about the accessibility of the inauguration and the President, and by extension, the Government. This is what struck me today, in all of this ceremony.

I've been to Washington DC a couple of times. It's a great city. The history and the tradition are tremendously interesting. There is a lot of beauty in the monuments and the parks - even the Capitol and Supreme Court and the Library of Congress and the Old Post Office are beautiful in their way.

But for most people, seeing Washington DC is not the same as seeing the government.

There has been a lot of interest in vacations with a purpose. People are interested in eco-vacations which strive to have minimal impact on the environment. Other people are taking working vacations, volunteering in scientific research projects, providing medical or teaching services, or building houses, schools and churches in poor communities.

An accessible government could lead to educational vacations for hundreds of thousands of Americans. For the sake of our country, I hope so.