An OP

January 20, 2009 was surely a day to be remembered in history as the world watched the 44th US President elect, Barack Obama, being sworn into oath in front of well over one million American citizens who attended the inauguration ceremony.

Upon being sworn by Chief Justice John Roberts, Mr. Obama had delivered yet another powerful speech of his acceptance to span the masses with the promise of greatness and reformation among the country’s foreign and domestic affairs. He acknowledged that his tasks were indeed going to be arduous, but also had safely assured his pledges by reminding America of its triumph over adversity through past endeavors.

Obama has a remarkable level of ambitiousness toward unifying not only the US, but other nations and his willingness to work toward a peaceful path gleamed through statements such as, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist,” which was addressed to those of the Muslim world.

Mr. Obama had spoke of the plans for reevaluation of the Middle East and repairs for US economy, but there just seemed to be a sense of generality. Obama had brushed through what to expect through his administration in terms of dealing with terrorism and our suffering economy, but had emphasized a little bit more on the hardships during the era of the civil war, such as slavery and segregation (which are still important and very much relevant). In addition to his broadness among topics, Obama’s statements throughout the inaugural address had also felt repetitious, as he expressed several times, basically that things will work; the process, the road to recovery will be difficult, but it will be faced.


If there is one sure thing that surely can be affirmed from any of Obama’s speeches thus far, it is that what ever promise with the appearance of it being an impossibility, can be powered by his emphasized “Yes, we can!” attitude through his booming tone of overwhelming confidence. His speech conveyance is strong and punctual, but what a lot of people tend to dismiss is that he has not done anything to significantly change or fix America’s situated position in the world yet (not that the past election was not already a change in pace). People must remember that there is way much more to be done than what Obama has so conveniently condensed enough that the simple enough answer is just “Yes, we can!”


Obama’s strive for shaping this country’s future is unfathomable. The American people were on a much-needed level of awareness during ex-President Bush’s term and it was clear, we needed change. Though Obama is our beacon of hope and our new leader of the free world, people still have the right to be skeptical of his abilities and should not stop questioning his actions and plans during his term in the oval office. Let’s not let his image fool us, nor let his voice serenade our fears to sleep just yet.