Elizabeth Alexander

[Grampa]

I love art.

I love the art of not only the sung word but the spoken word.

But today's days work.......  sounded like something plagiarized from a bored highschool freshman who put pen to paper just to keep from getting an F



Not worthy of such a grand day as this...... not even close.


And don't get me started on Aretha........ Bob Dylan is easier to understand      

[nateqwik]

BLASPHEMY!!! How dare you take the name of BOB in vain!?!

[rgramjet]

I love art.

I love the art of not only the sung word but the spoken word.

But today's days work.......  sounded like something plagiarized from a bored highschool freshman who put pen to paper just to keep from getting an F



Not worthy of such a grand day as this...... not even close.


And don't get me started on Aretha........ Bob Dylan is easier to understand      

Couldnt agree more....the whole time I was like WTF is she saying???  Then it ended, and for some reason I was happy.

[Grampa]

Couldnt agree more....the whole time I was like WTF is she saying???  Then it ended, and for some reason I was happy.

I  listened to the whole inauguration on the radio while driving today..... I'm not sure it it needed to be seen to make sense... but when it ended, I didn't even know it had ended.



and.......  mellow yellow?

just say no to old hippies 

[rgramjet]

That means Dont flush if its only pee

[ducpainter]

<snip>
just say no to old hippies 

Ya had to be there.

[Grampa]

all my critiquing aside.....

I was a huge day...and I'm happy to be an American (same as most days   )

[ducpainter]

[rgramjet]

all my critiquing aside.....

I was a huge day...and I'm happy to be an American (same as most days   )

You were?

[Grampa]

Ya had to be there.

do not want

[ducpainter]

It was what it was.

[Grampa]

It was what it was.

And I think it was needed..... then

IMO.... to hear this as a closing comment
"when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right"

it cheapend the day.

We as a people just elected a man of color to the highest seat in our nation...... leave the catchy phrased black-light  velvet poster slogans in the time capsule.   

[derby]

And I think it was needed..... then

IMO.... to hear this as a closing comment
"when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right"

it cheapend the day.

We as a people just elected a man of color to the highest seat in our nation...... leave the catchy phrased black-light  velvet poster slogans in the time capsule.   

personally, i think prayers in public events are rather annoying, why should this one have been any different.

the transcript of his benediction:


God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed â€" the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

[Kopfjäger]

IMO.... to hear this as a closing comment
"when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right"

More to follow.

[Grampa]

FTR...... this is not a political comment thread.


This is the first inauguration I ever paid attention to. Maybe it's just me, but I expected it to be..... better.  

Not  a "KISS" concert better...... just more  dignified.  

Rick Warren.... sounded like your average everyday guy.   not presidential inauguration material.
Aretha (who I love) sounded....... drunk.
Joseph Echols Lowery sounded stuck.

Yo-Yo Ma and his crew..... that's what I expected.  Dignified... Regal



I realize we don't wear suits and ties to baseball game anymore...... but I think the presidential inauguration should be more formal than what I saw today.