As the American people so proudly say in the preamble of their Constitution:- “…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…”

The American people in all their vaunted glory and with all of their troubles and defeats deeply etched on their brows; with all they have known and experienced up front for all the world to see, these hardy souls have shown that they really know how to keep on keepin’ on. They also know how to keep on pushing towards a mark of a truly high calling.

The point we make concerning these people is simple enough – the United States remains a wonderful work in progress. As they have already done on forty three successive occasions and having survived catastrophes galore; after living through the giddiest of times when their Dream was in full froth – and when in just recent memory – they elected a man whose ancestral roots are grounded in both

African and America. When some among them thought that this good brother would last for but one term, the people to whom we dedicate this commentary thought they should do it again.

What these people have done is that they decided this November past that Barack Hussein Obama should continue with them to make and shape their perfection-story of these hard and difficult times.

As Obama explains, “…Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago – We hold these truths to be self-evident…!
Self-evident is the reality that all men are created equal and endowed with rights given them by the Creator of us all.
God bless America.

Today we send forth a mighty praise-shout to the people of the United States –as they do their level best to perfect the Union that binds them together as the greatest nation in the history of the world.

As Obama himself declaimed, “…Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed. For more than two hundred years, we have…”

This man is seized of the truth; and for knowing it, he is surely set on a path that guarantees him freedom.

Ceremonial occasions – as done and as practiced in any number of countries – are times when people decide that they would focus on issues, ideas and shared narratives.

Just yesterday the American people did so as they welcomed their forty- forth president.

With pomp and pageantry fit and proper for the land of the free and the home of the brave, the American people gave their festive welcome to Barack Hussein Obama, his wife Michelle and their children, Sasha and Malia.
Behind and above the scene hovered the spirits of all those men and women – Red and Yellow, Black and White [inclusive of John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. – whose myriad of sacrifices made this day possible.

This point was made in another way by President Obama as he confessed, “…Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together…”

And clearly they have.

Today’s United States of America stands tall as a beacon on a hill – a light to all who would wish to know that, yes, human beings can and will do great things when they decide to recognize that each and every human person is infinitely precious in the sight of their Creator.