Where Were You?

Throughout my years I have often heard people say that they remembered exactly where they were and what they were doing when some of the most important events in history occurred. I have heard where people were when the Allies won the Second World War, when JFK was assasinated, the American pull out of Vietnam and, of course, the fall of the Berlin Wall that marked the end of communism.

In my relatively short time on this planet, two events come to mind that have had this kind of effect. On September 11, 2001 I was sitting in my Grade 10 Science class at Belle River District High School. The Principal came on to the P.A. system and announced what happened. It was one of those moments where after the announcement there was a moment of silence because of course no one really knew what to say/do and what it really meant. That moment is one that I will never forget and I will be able to say down the road (... like today) and say I remember exactly where I was when it happened.

The other moment occurred today. Years from now I will be able to say that on January 20, 2008 I was sitting at the Bridge Street Cafe in Sackville, NB when the United States inaugurated its first black president. Watching the coverage online, scrambling to find a steady feed whenever the server would boot me off because of the incredible strain from people attempting to watch the inauguration. Listening to Barack Obama's speech that I am not ashamed to say was pretty moving for me. I can honestly say that it was pretty inspirational and while I may not remember the exact words he said, the message will likely stick with me for a long time.

But now that the moment is over now, I believe it is time for everyone, especially the media, to take a big step back and realize that Obama is not the second coming of Jesus! There is so much anticipation about the change and good that President Obama is going to enact that there is almost no way that he can live up to these expectations. They say that the first 100 days set the tone for the entire presidency, well, it seems that if he doesn't close Gitmo, create peace in the Middle East and solve global warming in his first seven days then everything will be lost!

Now I'm not trying to rain on everyone's parade, I think Obama was an excellent choice for president, but let us all try to relax and let the commotion calm down. He is a man with a message of change but just a man and let's try to remember that. Let's not make the mistake of judging him on what he says but by what he actually does. To do this, though, we have to wait and see what happens so lets all just chill out with the anticipation and notions of grandeur.

- blenCOWe