HBO We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration (2009)

Having fed the cat, watered the plants, fed myself - and in that order, I was ready to have a couple of hours being brain dead in front of the goggle box. I turned to HBO, for no other reason than it was there, and there it was – the American Presidential inauguration show – We Are One. At first I thought I would watch a minute or two of quite boring speeches then turn off the TV, and read - there is a Terry Pratchett paperback waiting to be finished. We Are One, wasn’t that a song from The Lion King performed by Cam Clarke, Charity Sanoy and Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Chorus? Is that a, not so, subtle message referring to President –elect Barack (Hussein) Obama’s Kenyan roots? I was captured, caught in the razzamatazz of TV, celebrities, singers, music and heart rendering speeches on liberty, oneness and freedom. Mesmerised like some moth flying to the light I could barely break away from the celebration. Every few minutes, after being uplifted by the music, my heart was panged by yet another meaningful speech. I was the proverbial putty in their hands. And of course the whole show was designed to leave people like me in that condition. Guests varied from Jack Black, Steve Carell, Tom Hanks, Martin Luther King junior to Denzel Washington and Tiger Woods. Performers and artists ranged from Beyonce, Mary J.Blige and Sheryl Crow to ageing protestors like Pete Segar and The Boss (Bruce Springsteen). A goodly mix of Herbie Handcock, Shakira, Stevie Wonder and Garth Brooks were enough to entice all but the most hard core audiences. A celebration it was - a celebration of achievement, a celebration of history, of nationhood, of man’s humanity to man, of accomplishment. Thousands gathered to celebrate their Americaness and to wallow in their togetherness, at that one moment in time. Many didn’t notice the shaky theatrical scenery, the jerkiness of Tiger Woods speech, or the obvious nervousness of Vice President Joe Biden as he hurried through his speech and rushed back to the comfort of his chair. It was a smooth operation. Smoother in fact than clockwork, and bar the human errors mentioned the show went well. After the all singing, all dancing, show the final act was the President-elect himself, planned no doubt to be the climax of the show - the big finish. Having winced through Joe Biden’s remarks on the intrinsic value of work, and the honour and pride to be found therein I for one was a tad disappointed at Barack Obama’s speech. I felt that he had delivered more stirring speeches during his campaign to become president, and that what should have been his greatest speech – the one to be measured against Martin Luther King’s famous speech, or that of Kennedy, was lacklustre. Maybe his writers had given all the good stuff, and they, like he, were tired and just wanted to get the President-elect into the Oval Office. It was a cold day at the Lincoln memorial. Overcoats and speechifying were there to keep America, and the idea of America warm. The crowds lapped it all up, but then, many had travelled thousands of miles to get there and they would have been foolish not to. But overall the show went well and spread its message of class togetherness, racial harmony, unity against adversity, all Americans working together and succeeding against all odds, tough times ahead but with fortitude and concord American will strive for a better future together because as the man said WE ARE ONE. Oh sorry, They Are One.