*Inauguration Day*

*Rick Wilking /Reuters photo

The Inauguration is a classy, celebratory event, even though this term's Inauguration had more security than most, because of the events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq.

The kids and I watched it pretty much from start to finish. What better history lesson is there than to be able to watch history unfold right before our eyes, in real time. It is a privilege to enjoy a positive moment in history with the children, even with the protestors present on the parade route, since we've shared some difficult historic moments over the last few years.

I enjoy watching and listening to the bands, that are such a major part of the ceremonial atmosphere. Love those Fifes and three-cornered hats!
These are some of my favorite quotes from the President's Inaugural speech.Full text of the President's Inaugural Speech is available here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050120-1.html

"America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way."

"We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right."

"Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism,we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time."

"Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?"

"These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background...those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free."

"We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills."