My mind has been busy with thoughts of the inauguration, and I recall an article I just read in Heritage Magazine. The article was about the relationship between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Now Lincoln and Douglass differed on many ideas including equality. Interestingly enough, both men held a deep respect for one another. Douglass once said, “Lincoln is he only white man that did not remind me that I was a Negro.” This inauguration reminds me that although we may seem to have come a long way, now that Obama is to become our next President, maybe we have not come that far. Every day we read that Obama is our first black President. Why are we constantly reminded of that when we should look at him and see our new President, nothing more, nothing less.? 
                    On the same note, why is it so important to erect a statue of FDR, in Washington DC, portrayed in his wheelchair? He was a great President, who wanted to be remembered for that. We do not need to put FDR’s polio at ease for him…it is perhaps to put us at ease, because we are uncomfortable with differences. We have this crazy urge to put everyone into groups. Is it any wonder that people have difficulty making people comfortable with their own differences? What if we all just tried to imagine a world where we didn't acknowledge those obvious differences, and try to refer to a person by his/her name?  Maybe I am being too idealistic. I think Frederick Douglass summed it all up 145 years ago. 
                        I think we tend to be uncomfortable with our past and want to make things 'right'. I guess the fact that when we look to the past and feel like this, maybe we are moving ahead in the way that we treat people. Obama has moved people to become more active in their government, to be accountable. We should hold all of our representatives accountable when they hold their own interests above our interests. I am not sure which direction our country is moving but it is good that the people have been awakened.
                     Lastly, I have been doing a lot of organizing today, trying to make my life less cumbersome. Winter is a good time to work on these projects. However it did not stop me from reading an article in MDA’s Quest magazine. It was the story of a family in California who have four sons with Muscular Dystrophy. I was amazed to read that this family decided to take a year off to go sailing together; eleven in the whole family. When I find myself stressing about small potatoes compared to this family, I am ashamed. I realized today that by reading that article, it was no waste of my time. It made me put a few things in perspective. Enlightened is what I felt. They are truly living life. This year I will try to throw some of that anxiety out the window. It is going to be a good year… I hope for all of us.