Cartoon by Maegan Moore

January 20, 2009 – It was reported that an estimated 2 million people crowded Washington D.C. for President Obama’s inauguration, two million. Two million from all across the country, gathered in our nation’s capital to celebrate the beginning of the 44th President of the United States, and many, to celebrate the departure of the 43rd.

It is easy to get lost in the hype and the almost instant celebrity status of President Obama, but the truth is that the campaigns are over, and reality must set in.

Whether you supported President Obama or McCain during these campaigns, it is time to put those differences aside. Enough talk about race; enough talk about policy; enough talk about the former president. Whether Democrat or Republican, black or white, rich or poor, we all live under the same flag, and maybe it is time we understand that.

One line stood out during President Obama’s speech: “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

Let us choose hope and purpose, not just because we have a new president, because our country needs help. Hope and persistency are the ropes that we need to cling to right now. Without hope, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Without persistency, goals do not get accomplished, and our goal right now is to band together, as a country and fight our way out of this economic and social valley.

One person cannot change the world overnight. It is up to us, as Americans, as the citizens of this country, to be proactive about our nation’s situation. President Obama is not the absolute answer, but just the catalyst. The catalyst to bring about a new way of thinking. Enough relying on one person to magically solve everything that is wrong with this nation: it is not going to happen.

President Obama understands this: “My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us …”

Not the task before me. Not the task before me and a few others. No, the task before us.

Barack Obama is the President of the United States. He is our leader, like it or not. Do not turn away from that fact, but show temperance. History is happening right before our eyes. Do not be blind to that because you are afraid. Do not watch history go past you, become a part of it.

This editorial was written by Lee Johnson (gljohnson@valdosta.edu) and it expresses the opinion of the entire editorial staff