Winds

Winds of change are blowing. Barack Obama was inaugurated today in the cool sunshine of Washington, DC. It was an auspicious and moving event. I cried when Aretha Franklin sang "Let Freedom Ring," and I cried again when Obama said: 'This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

There is a song by the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, titled "Closer to the Heart," (Words by Neil Peart and Peter Talbot, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson) that with Obama's inauguration, may be moving from the abstract to something tangible and concrete. The song starts with the line: "And the men who hold high places must be the ones to start, to forge a new reality closer to the heart." Obama is the one who I believe could do this, and lead the world in a new approach to people, and governments, and how the world works. I watch with new hope for all of us.