Hey everyone! While Katie has been a ‘blogger’ for quite some time now, this is my first official entry. Last week I took 10 of my students to Washington D.C. for the Inauguration of President Obama…and it was an awesome experience. Now for those of you who know me quite well you know that I am a conservative republican, and that I am a very political person to say the least. However, let’s put politics aside for this historic event that I was so blessed to be a part of and bring some of my students along for the ride. Being in D.C. for this historic event, really was a once in a lifetime experience. I am a very firm believer that the United States is the greatest nation on God’s green earth, and this event defined as to why that is so. Our nation is a nation of people from every background, ethnicity, religion, race, etc….but the one thing that binds us together, the one thing that defines us, is that despite all of our differences we can live, work, play, educate, and govern together as one. The inauguration of President Obama is a huge culmination of events and progress in our nation…regardless of whether you are a elephant or donkey. Lincoln and MLK Jr. were without a doubt smiling down from heaven upon our nation last Tuesday…along with hundreds of thousands of others who at some time or another, in one way or another, have fought, stood up for, or given their lives to the ideals of democracy, freedom, and equality for which our great nation represents.
While my political ideologies have not swayed, through a lot of research, reading, thought, and witnessing the Inauguration of our 44th President - our first black President, I have come to this conclusion. The President of the United States is not only our nations President, he is my president. Regardless of his decisions, his executive orders, the bills he will sign and veto, his beliefs and his stances, he has my support. Our nation is a great nation because we change, we progress, we stand up for those that don’t have a voice, we allow not just the majority to be heard but also the minority. President Obama represents something our nation needs so desperately at this difficult moment in time in which we are faced with – youth, energy, new ideas, change, and direction. And while I may not be on the same page as my President, I will support him, pray for him, and hope for the best. Being in a crowd of 2 million people on our nation’s front yard I realized something. First of all, I realized that I was the minority witnessing such a historic event – a white conservative male. Second of all, as I looked around and noticed the many elderly African American people who made the trek to our nation’s capital to witness our new President that WE elected take the oath of office, I realized that this was an end to a long, long struggle for many of them, that I can not begin to understand. Regardless of what the future holds, and where Obama and the 111th Congress lead our nation, the Inauguration of President Obama was and will always be a defining moment in our nations history and heritage, and well as a major turning point on the road of progress. I truly believe that this will also give many people hope, encouragement, and motivation to realize that anything is possible if one can endure and persevere, at a time when they may need it the most.
Now, let me put my philosophy and thoughts aside…about the trip! The 10 outstanding students that came along with me on this adventure, were exactly that – outstanding. Truly these kids were great, and honestly could have gone on this trip alone – without me and the tour guides. Their maturity and respect level, as well as their thirst for knowledge and appetite for history really blew me out of the water. I had all of these kids as 10th graders in Advanced Placement World History, and now that they are all seniors, have quite a few of them in my Advanced Placement US Government and Politics class. Each and everyone of these students are off to college next fall – from UCLA, UCSB, Cal Berkley, Harvard, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cal State Long Beach – and they all are amazing young adults – what can I say I am very proud of each and everyone of them (and hope that I have taught them something along the way!).
We were able to see much more than I had anticipated with the amount of people that were packed into D.C. – we saw Mt. Vernon, Arlington, USMC Iwo Jima Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and FDR monuments, the National Archives, Library of Congress, the Capital Building visitors center, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of American History, the Air and Space Museum, and Holocaust Museum, the WWII memorial, and of course witnessed the Inauguration itself (in which we stood in the National Mall for 8 straight hours in 20 degree weather – standing room only!). Our tour guide, bus driver, accommodations, and flights (Virgin America is my new favorite airline!) were all great, and therefore I cannot say enough about how great World Strides is (the company I booked our trip through – highly recommended!) We lost no one, and by the way on this trip I became quite “text message savvy” as that was the easiest and quickest way of communication – although my students say that I am quite slow at it! We also ran into Martin Luther King Jr. III, though his bodyguards keep us at bay – so no pictures. Katie’s sister Jenny and her husband mark (who works on capital hill for Maria Cantwell) were able to meet up with us for a bit one day as well, which was really great. Katie is now telling me that this is rather a long blog entry, so I will wrap it up with this final thought… This was an awesome experience, one that a textbook will never be able to fully describe and/or explain.
While my political ideologies have not swayed, through a lot of research, reading, thought, and witnessing the Inauguration of our 44th President - our first black President, I have come to this conclusion. The President of the United States is not only our nations President, he is my president. Regardless of his decisions, his executive orders, the bills he will sign and veto, his beliefs and his stances, he has my support. Our nation is a great nation because we change, we progress, we stand up for those that don’t have a voice, we allow not just the majority to be heard but also the minority. President Obama represents something our nation needs so desperately at this difficult moment in time in which we are faced with – youth, energy, new ideas, change, and direction. And while I may not be on the same page as my President, I will support him, pray for him, and hope for the best. Being in a crowd of 2 million people on our nation’s front yard I realized something. First of all, I realized that I was the minority witnessing such a historic event – a white conservative male. Second of all, as I looked around and noticed the many elderly African American people who made the trek to our nation’s capital to witness our new President that WE elected take the oath of office, I realized that this was an end to a long, long struggle for many of them, that I can not begin to understand. Regardless of what the future holds, and where Obama and the 111th Congress lead our nation, the Inauguration of President Obama was and will always be a defining moment in our nations history and heritage, and well as a major turning point on the road of progress. I truly believe that this will also give many people hope, encouragement, and motivation to realize that anything is possible if one can endure and persevere, at a time when they may need it the most.
Now, let me put my philosophy and thoughts aside…about the trip! The 10 outstanding students that came along with me on this adventure, were exactly that – outstanding. Truly these kids were great, and honestly could have gone on this trip alone – without me and the tour guides. Their maturity and respect level, as well as their thirst for knowledge and appetite for history really blew me out of the water. I had all of these kids as 10th graders in Advanced Placement World History, and now that they are all seniors, have quite a few of them in my Advanced Placement US Government and Politics class. Each and everyone of these students are off to college next fall – from UCLA, UCSB, Cal Berkley, Harvard, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cal State Long Beach – and they all are amazing young adults – what can I say I am very proud of each and everyone of them (and hope that I have taught them something along the way!).
We were able to see much more than I had anticipated with the amount of people that were packed into D.C. – we saw Mt. Vernon, Arlington, USMC Iwo Jima Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and FDR monuments, the National Archives, Library of Congress, the Capital Building visitors center, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of American History, the Air and Space Museum, and Holocaust Museum, the WWII memorial, and of course witnessed the Inauguration itself (in which we stood in the National Mall for 8 straight hours in 20 degree weather – standing room only!). Our tour guide, bus driver, accommodations, and flights (Virgin America is my new favorite airline!) were all great, and therefore I cannot say enough about how great World Strides is (the company I booked our trip through – highly recommended!) We lost no one, and by the way on this trip I became quite “text message savvy” as that was the easiest and quickest way of communication – although my students say that I am quite slow at it! We also ran into Martin Luther King Jr. III, though his bodyguards keep us at bay – so no pictures. Katie’s sister Jenny and her husband mark (who works on capital hill for Maria Cantwell) were able to meet up with us for a bit one day as well, which was really great. Katie is now telling me that this is rather a long blog entry, so I will wrap it up with this final thought… This was an awesome experience, one that a textbook will never be able to fully describe and/or explain.
President Obama greeted us all as we got off the plane in D.C.
at the USMC Iwo Jima Monument - the largest cast statue in the world (that is one piece)... Semper Fi
Our view of the Inauguration - we were much closer than I thought we would be...but still glad there was a jumbo tron close so we could actually see!
President Lincoln...
This guy we met was holding up this sign near the Lincoln Memorial...the other side read "from slavery to history baby!" He had to of been the happiest guy I have ever met!
Lucy with her eyes open and arms up... Madeline sleeping so sweetly! They are the cutest EVER.