Inauguration Observations

It was truly an historic moment, the inauguration of an African American, but now it’s over. The highlight for me was listening to Aretha Franklin sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” I’ve always been a huge Aretha fan. Maybe we should change the national anthem to “Think!”

Obama’s speech was, well, an Obama speech. Competent. Well-delivered. Unremarkable in content. Anyway, it doesn’t matter how you describe or analyze it. Actions in the current situation count about a thousand times more than words. Make that ten thousand.

Now we have a week of televised self-congratulation to look forward to. Many have written about the absurdity of spending all this money in tough times, so I’m not going to bore you with the obvious. In any case, I don’t envy Barack Obama. I hope it’s not true, but today may be the high point of his life. Contemplating the role of the President of the United States turns me Buddhist. As the Zen masters said, “If you’re attached to anything, you surely will go far astray.” [Are you talking about your wallet?-ed Among other things.]