James Carroll on Inaugurations

Columnist James Carroll is going on sabbatical to write a book, and won't be back until 4 May. But, before taking off from his work at The Boston Globe he penned one last column, this one on Inaugurations. Titled "My Inaugurations," it chronicles the Inaugurations of his lifetime, going back to his Mother taking him (at age one) to the 1945 Fourth Inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

He mentions how he and his older brother took the bus to downtown DC to see President Dwight David Eisenhower's Inauguration--he must have been only nine. Times have changed. I am not sure any parent would turn loose a nine-year old and his teenage brother to go to DC by themselves.

Then the watershed for Mr Carroll:

As a freshman at Georgetown in 1961, I wore my ROTC uniform to John F. Kennedy's inauguration. I recall that the regulation topcoat was too thin for the cold that day. As a Young Democrat, I had stuffed envelopes for Kennedy, our Georgetown neighbor, and was, like so many, wholly identified with him. Still, I was unprepared to hear his speech that day as addressed solely to me, with its peroration - ". . .here on earth, God's work must truly be our own" - a summons to what would prove to be a lifelong vocation of political and religious commitment together. Kennedy's inauguration marked a before-and-after moment of my life - a threshold I rejoiced to cross.

This Inauguration was important for many. As I have previously noted, I missed it, spending the day back in Colorado, after the weather prevented our aircraft from getting in to the DC area. It was an important Inauguration for Dick Howe, who blogged about it here.

I am surprised that the Richard M Nixon Inauguration that Mr Carroll chooses to remember is 1973. I would have thought 1969, after he had defeated the Happy Warrior, Senator Hubert H Humphrey. I voted for the Happy Warrior (my Mother thought he was wonderful). I already knew that "Tricky Dick" was "Tricky Dick." But, I did vote for Mr Nixon in 1972, but that was because I thought Senator George McGovern would lead us to disaster. I knew I was voting for a crook. I just thought his fellow crooks would not go after him with Impeachment.

Mr Carroll's comment on the 1973 Inauguration are ambiguous:

The memory shames me now. Even then, I understood that, just as my mystical bond with America had been sealed on prior inauguration days, so on that one the bond broke. After that, I made a point never to be in Washington on Jan. 20 again.

Was he ashamed of his actions and attitude on that day, protesting the President? Was he just ashamed for his nation, because of reelecting President Nixon? It isn't clear to me.

Mr Carroll concludes:

Obligations will keep me away from the capital tomorrow, but, once more like so many, my mind and heart will be with Barack Obama all day. That his election has upended so many world assumptions about the United States seems right to me because it has transformed my own imagination about the possible future. I believe in his promise of change because I have already experienced its effect - to the depths of my soul.

Not that Obama makes me an optimist - one who looks at the evidence and concludes about the future that things are getting better. Indeed, the evidence - from the economy to Gaza - suggests the opposite. But Obama has defined himself by hope, not optimism, and that is different. Hope sees the evidence, and something more. The catastrophes that define the public agenda, and the new president's challenges, can themselves be taken as opportunities. Obama's gifts are impressive, but his greatest asset as he stands before the American people tomorrow is what we are offering to him - a readiness to believe again in the greatness of our nation.

It sort of reminds me of the line: "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Except Mr Carroll is not really proud of his country. He is not even optimist. But, he is hopeful.

But, does he have faith--"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." I have faith--the alternative is not very palatable.

Regards  --  Cliff