Inauguration as Repentance

Today, I watched President Barack Obama take his oath of office whilst eating lunch with some old colleagues from Universal Orlando. After Obama finished his speech one of them turned to us and said, "I just hope that at the very least, this moment will mark the end of the negative thinking that's been on everyone's mind lately. Maybe that's enough to move us into a better place." We all nodded in agreement and I began thinking about how great it would be if the market turned and optimism spread.

You see, the former President George W. Bush, for all his faults and successes, represents eight years of terrorist attacks, war, economic collapse, and the end of Habeas Corpus. So no matter if your man won the election- no matter whether you voted for Obama, McCain, or a third party- today marks the end of that cycle and the beginning of something new. Perhaps today is the moment when we can finally put 9/11, the war in Iraq, the economic slump, and the other crap that's happened over the past eight years behind us. Perhaps today is the day that we can begin to move on.

Christians have a word for this sot of thing: Repentance.

Repentance is one of those religious words with all sorts of theological underpinnings attached to it, but in it's purest form it simply means 'to turn.' When we turn from an activity or thought process toward something new, better, or different, we repent. Often, in religious texts, repentance leads to some form of salvation. Sometimes, like Job, salvation meant a restitution of wealth and prosperity. Sometimes, like the city of Nineveh, it meant being spared punishment. And other times, it meant some sort of existential promise of full, meaningful life and the reward of heaven at the end. Regardless, repentance was always a good thing that lead to something better.

So, whether or not I agree with President Barack Obama's decisions (and I'll probably disagree with many of them), I think that this turning will be good for our country. I think it's a chance to grasp hold of something new and better. It's a chance to change.

I like that.