A Rare and Completely Off-Topic Update

I don't usually go off-topic on this blog. Leastwise, not far off-topic. In fact, I don't remember ever going too far off-topic here, on the PGS blog. Today, I'm going to make an exception.

Yesterday was a truly historic day.

Whether you're an Obama fan or not, yesterday represented something that will be long remembered and, I sincerely hope, long revered.

If you follow my Twitter updates -- here on the blog or via Twitter itself -- you might have noticed I'm very taken with a phrase from President Obama's inaugural speech: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals..."

When I was growing up, in the 50s and early 60s, my most impressionable years were, in large part, effected by what I saw on the tube. In television's version of America, at least back then, Americans were the people who wore the big, white, cowboy hats. We defended the weak and oppressed. We were a country of supermen-- We (figuratively) wore blue tights, a red cape, and we all had a big "S" emblazoned on our chests. We were the moral right in a world populated by so many who represented the moral wrong. From "Combat" to "Gunsmoke" to "Superman," and so many more TV shows, I was told, over and over, that right makes might -- not the other way around -- and that America always chooses right. I was led to believe that making the right choices wasn't something I, as a member of the human race, was supposed to do. I was taught to believe that, as an American, it was my obligation, my duty, to do the right thing.

And then JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later on, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were also struck down. The 60s was filled with so much that belied what I was taught by Hollywood's writers, producers, and actors, by my teachers, and by my family: The Viet Nam War, the attempted oppression, by our government, of lawful protests and freedom of expression, the attempts, by so many, to thwart civil rights and more. Even my father, who served in both WW2 (USA) and the Korean War (USMC), seemed to become disillusioned by America and what it seemed to be moving towards. And it wasn't a movement to the liberal left that bothered my father. I should also note that, with most things, my father was more than a little conservative and usually voted Republican.

Since the 1960s, in my opinion, it's all been a downward spiral for America's ideals and its principles. We have not represented the right stuff for a very long time, i.e., the stuff I was brainwashed into believing America was mostly made of. Sure, we became stronger and tougher. But not tougher on things that matter. Not tougher on preserving our ideals and principles. Instead, we became tougher like thugs, sacrificing what we know is right for the easy remedies of maintaining the status quo at any cost... sacrificing our principles, our ideals, even our constitution.

And I've felt disillusioned, betrayed, ashamed, cynical, bitter, and worse.

Until yesterday.

I had a medical appointment yesterday. I get my health care from the Veterans Administration. (Yeah, I'm a vet. USAF, 1969-1972.) As a result, I watched President Obama's speech on a TV at the VA. With me, watching in the waiting area, were about 40 or 50 other vets and employees of the VA. When Obama concluded, I was so moved. There were tears on my cheeks. No, I don't expect the impossible from the man. And I don't think he's a messiah. But his words to America seemed to lift a heavy burden, at least a big chunk of it, from my heart, my mind, my soul. A burden that has troubled me for a very long time. Obama's words offered hope for an America that just might have a chance at reclaiming some of those things the TV networks and others of the 50s and early 60s told me America was all about. In other words, a shot at redemption... for so many things and in so many ways.

My name was called almost immediately after Obama's speech concluded. I looked around. The room was silent and still. I couldn't wrap my head around the reactions of the others in the room. I really didn't know what they were thinking. It seemed odd.

After my time with the doctor, I came back out into the waiting area and looked up at the TV. I wasn't sure what was going on with the inauguration. Three vets, all about my age, were sitting near the TV and watching. With a big smile plastered on my face, I cheerfully asked them if Obama had been sworn in yet. One of them looked at me and said, "You mean your president?"

I was a bit confused.

"No. I mean our president," I responded.

"He might be your president," the vet scowled at me.

"Absolutely he's my president. Just like the last guy was whether I liked him or not."

The vet rolled his eyes.

"Dude. The fact that you're sitting here, at the VA, tells me you should know, better than many, that he's our president whether you like it or not."

The three vets, almost on cue, all turned away from me.

America has a long way to go.

But for the first time in a long time I have some hope.

Today, President Obama banned the use of torture. A first step towards reclaiming our ideals. Obama says he will offer a hand to those who oppose us if they will unclench their fists. How simple a gesture is that? And yet, how unusual for the vast majority of the presidents I've witnessed in my lifetime.

The pretty girl at the top is Aveena. I shot the pic, in spite of the copyright date, about 4 or 5 years ago. What? Just cuz I went off with some political stuff you thought I wouldn't post a pretty girl pic? Photographers please.

This blog will now return to its normally scheduled content.