Friday, January 23, 2009

Which Word Describes Your Inauguration Day Mood?

Emily Troutman is an independent writer and photographer who created a video from the photographs that she took on the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated. She carried with her signs for people to choose from. She had this to say about the project:

"This week I made my way around Washington, D.C. and asked hundreds of people to pick words to represent how they feel now, at the dawn of a new beginning for the United States. Participants chose from 26 words:

Alive, Angry, Anxious, Awed, Believe, Curious, Dancer, Excited, Grateful, Happy, Hopeful, Human, Humble, Jealous, Joyful, Love, Obama, Patient, Proud, Ready, Scared, Skeptical, Tired, Together, Wonder, Worried"

President Obama: Words for How We Feel Now from Emily Troutman.

If I had to choose one of these words, I guess it would be "Wonder". I'm too skeptical to choose "Hopeful" or "Believe". This historic event, the election of an African-American, is very awe-inspiring. I think that Obama has the potential to be a better President than many others that this country has had. I know enough about the human nature to just assume that he couldn't possibly let his supporters down, so I'm mostly just wondering how things will go over the next four years.

By the way, Emily Troutman also has a blog you can visit.


Anonymous said...

I don't get it. Why do all these people who proclaim they are not racist, laud the fact that Obama has black skin? I understand the historical nature of a black man becoming president, but I also think that people need to stop obsessing over this point. Obama is not defined by his skin color, he is a man - and it is his choices which matter.

bint alshamsa said...


What are you talking about? Obama's skin isn't black? If anything he looks like a very light cafe au lait. Heck, down here in Louisiana, I've seen Caucasians with darker skin than his.

I haven't seen a single person who actually thinks Obama's skin is black, so I certainly don't know of anyone who lauds it. I have seen many people marvel over the fact that our relatively young country has accomplished something that hasn't occurred in many other much older Western nations. I can certainly understand why those who were young during the Jim Crow era and those who are the grandchildren of slaves would be so excited about this. It's similar to the way many Americans felt when they went from residing in homes without running water to watching a man walk on the moon all within one lifespan. It's not that they were obsessed with the moon or even that they were obsessed with the man who was walking on it. It was what that accomplishment represented.

Ironically, the people who seem to be obsessing over Obama's skin color aren't actually his supporters. His supporters seem to be much more amazed by what the election says about their fellow Americans, recognizing that they are the ones who accomplished this feat.

Also, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make with regards to racism since, even if someone did make the erroneous claim that Obama has black skin, this wouldn't meet the definition of racism.