44th Presidential Inauguration
I don’t do personal politics on this website, even when covering how politics, urbanity and architecture intersect. But I would like to talk about what happened today.
Today I stood next to the New York Stock Exchange to witness Barack Hussein Obama sworn in as American’s 44th President. Standing in the cold with me were friends, tourists, NYSE brokers, and citizens of the United States. Everyone was smiling, in a city where smiles on the street are rare. This glorious, and peaceful, handover of power makes me proud to be an American.

While being in Washington D.C. would have been an honor, standing at the site of the first Inauguration brings history full circle. Serving as our backdrop was Federal Hall, where on April 30th, 1789 George Washington was sworn in as this nation’s first President; this was a moment of great hope and change as America moved from a confederacy of states to a republic. The eight years between the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 proved a trying time for the young country as war, internal strife and economic hardships enveloped the fledgling democracy. There was many doubters and those who were afraid of change and the unknown, so when President Obama spoke of not fearing change, please think of what the nation was going through in 1787 when debating the Constitution:

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

Our Founding Fathers didn’t fear the change in moving toward a more perfect Union, and reshaping the role of our government. Our needs are similar: we must not be afraid to make the same choices in order to perfect our Union; to ensure that all American have health care; that all are provided Social Security; that our soldiers are brought home safely and cared for before, during and after their service to our country; that our financial industry is fully regulated, as it once was, to ensure that the economy is not again brought to the brink of destruction; that our cities are made whole again through reducing our need for personal vehicles, the increase in transit and the funding of sustainable building practices; to resurrect America’s standing in the world; and, to right the wrongs o f the last eight years, be they our policies on torture, diplomacy, safety, or the economy. This is our moment.
It is our duty to not betray the work and sacrifice of those who came before us. 220 years ago our country was on the brink of collapse, and we came together to perfect our great political system. Today we are at the same point in history – our leaders, and our citizens, must not shirk from their responsibility to protect and defend this nation’s citizens.