He was 16 at the time, a Boston high school sophomore with no ambition beyond graduating, when his history teacher suggested a trip to Washington to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Elysander Plaza, the fifth of six children raised by a single mother, had never felt a personal connection to a president until Obama. He purchased a bus ticket and, along with 1.8 million others, headed to the nation’s capital. The words, the crowds, the setting — all of it stayed with him as he returned to East Boston. He kept the bus ticket in his wallet, wedged against his prom picture and photos of his nieces and nephews, to remind him of the inspiration he felt that day.
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National Day of Service Honoring MLK - Thoughts on the Second Inauguration of Barack Obama Every day that I awaken I thank God or fate that Barack Obama won not only one but two presidencies. I will be, for the eternity of my life, amazed and grateful that this is so. This doubting Thomas still prays every day that our president is kept safe especially now with the Newtown gun issue prompting massive amounts of gun sales and virulent opposition to any form of gun control. Imagine, 300 million guns exist in this nation; one for nearly every American who calls this land home. Despite all of it I truly believe that most, at least a majority in this nation, are basically good as Anne Frank, even through her Nazi terror, believed about mankind in her age. How can we believe less? The services performed during this National Day of Service, I think, prove that. There are countless more who are not visible doing as much as they can do to improve the lives of many. One additional gift we can give to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, who sacrificed his life for all of us, is to show support to the nation's first African American president and counter the forces of hate aligned against him every day in order to thwart him at every turn. Never give up, never falter and never fail so that those who are still oppressed in this nation can sing along too and believe in the forever famous words of the beloved Dr. King in his 1963 March on Washington "I Have a Dream" speech: ... we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last Be true to his memory by doing good and in the words of the Christian teacher, as difficult as those words may be to follow, and no matter what your belief is: ... love your enemies and bless the ones who curse you, and do what is beautiful to the ones who hate you ... These are my watch words as I too try to calm my own anger and think that those spewers of hate and division aligned against our president truly know not what they do. Happy MLK Day and inauguration day to all.
This story is perfect illustration of what is wrong with this nation on two fronts. First, that the election of Barack Obama is viewed as an historic moment because of his race. MLK urged that we not judge people by the color of their skin, yet Obama is celebrated BECAUSE OF the color of his skin. Second, this is an example of the adoration that journalists around this nation have for Obama. They allow this to color the quality of their journalism, as the writer seems to be talking about how wonderful Obama is: this is not good journalism.