Today, a new president is sworn in. That has only occurred a few times in my short life, but it probably isn't something that I will be watching today since I am at work and my classes start tonight. Actually, I have never really been too concerned about the inauguration, and that isn't really changing this time around. I don't even care to watch the State of the Union address, which actually has greater implications than anything that happens at the inauguration. It does illustrate one of two things I don't understand about the timing of the inauguration, though. Why is it being held during the day on a weekday and why is it in the middle of winter.
The first question I have about inauguration scheduling is clear enough. It made sense when the inaugurations first started that it didn't matter if they were held on the weekend or on a weekday. People had to read about the inauguration if they cared at all rather than watching it on television. In this day and age, though, why not either hold the main event in the evening at a sports complex or on the weekend? If the incoming president has a religious issue with the day in question (say that it is on a Saturday and the elected president is a devout Jew or Seventh Day Adventist), then flexibility to be built into the system to hold it on a Sunday in that case.
The second question of why is it held in the winter makes less sense to me. That fact alone caused the death of the ninth U.S. president, William Henry Harrison. Not only that, but the inauguration was moved from March to the colder month of January years after Harrison's death. Inauguration day would make much more sense if it were in May or June than in January. Things would be so much easier if people would do them my way.
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Despite my thinking that I wouldn't watch the inauguration, I had it playing in the background for a little bit while I worked today. I more or less just caught the Rick Warren prayer and the Obama speech. While both are very good speakers, there wasn't anything shocking that stuck out to me. Nothing more political out of me today.
Well I missed the whole thing. I guess I wanted to watch it because of the historical significance of this particular one since you could say you watched the first black president get sworn in. I missed the pre events too, like my favorite band performing "Pride" on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. I know that was a big deal for U2.
we saw a bit online with live feed but I was cooking dinner and didn't see the swearing in. I did however see Nixon resign, I think I was 4.
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