Yep, I watched the Inauguration. Seriously, who didn’t? To say that it has a lot of significance would be a gross understatement.
But as much as it meant for me personally and what direction I hope the country will take, I wonder if some of the emotional impact passed me by. I’m not from a generation that saw segregation first-hand. Martin Luthor King, Jr. was murdered almost a decade before I was born. Moreover, I was born in and spent the first ten years of my life in Missoula, Montana. As diverse as it is by Montana standards (it’s a university town), it was still pretty white. By the time I became aware of racial prejudices, most racism had moved underground and showed itself in only relatively subtle ways. I didn’t think of it daily, so I simply wasn’t as conscious of it.
My emotion is more caught up in hope for our country. I am optimistic that we’ll have a set of good policies, reclaim our standing in the world, and live up to the ideals that my country was founded on. I feel relieved, like a great pressure has been taken off my mind. That’s what the transition means to me. We’ll see if it works out, but as I said, I’m optimistic.
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