We don't do this much here at the Scene & Heard factory, but given the circumstance(s) of this week, we're taking a turn for the serious (gasp!) with today's YouTube Monday. Seriously, take a look around. See that? There is way too much going on in the serious world to focus on something sensational in the music, film, or pop culture realms. So serious we are; escapism can wait. (Can't take serious? I understand. Tune back in tomorrow when I'll surely be acting ridiculous as per usual again!)

Most obviously, today is Martin Luther King Day. Always an important day to remember and observe, certainly; but it takes remarkable precedence this year.



The Doc's dream that he spoke of and fought so valiantly for long ago marches across a new milestone this week with the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama.

But not because he will be our first black president.

Though you can argue some cast their vote for Obama solely because he is black (and not from Texas), I believe Obama was voted into office not because of his skin color, but because of the hope he represents, the fact that people don't think "ugh, another politician" when they watch him or listen to him. I'd like to think Obama won the vote on Nov. 4 because the majority of us believe in him--regardless of his experience or what he looks like. And that was the dream the Doc spoke of in front of the Lincoln Memorial all those years ago. Not about blacks winning equal opportunities from whites, but that no dream is out of reach for any man or woman. Heck, that's not even the Doc's dream. That is THE AMERICAN DREAM--although it was disgustingly unbalanced for a loooooong time, and Obama is an appropriate distinction to show how far that dream has come.

I've been in an argument or two (or thirty-seven) over the past few months where I've been told that all this hope and dream talk is ridiculously hokey and has noooooo credence or place in politics, especially given the current economic climate. Well, I continue to differ. Look around. 2009 looks bleak. People are losing jobs. Wars 'round the globe continue to rage. The economy continues in it's coma. Plus we got all that global warming business. And the Eagles lose, again.

And the flying cars! Where are the flying cars we were promised in the 21st century?

It seems we're losing everything, including belief in ourselves and the people that we love. Even my parents are in a disheartening tangle of not talking to one another. Everything is falling apart. Hokey hope and dreams right now are EXACTLY what we need; a beacon that continues to glow while the rest of the world's lights shut off around it. And if you listen to Obama talk about hope...he isn't asking us to believe in him, but to believe in ourselves and the change that we can make ourselves. That's inspiring, and that's what we need.

Obviously, I expect Obama to eventually walk the walk and will call him on it if he doesn't. But right now, his journey to the White House is enough to keep me going, hoping, and working to change myself for the better in this awfully depressing climate of affairs. 2009 is at once, the most exciting time to be a 24-year old homeboy in America, and the most depressing. It is a dark, cold hour.

Frankly, all that someone like me has right now is a dream.

Barack Obama's speech before last year's Martin Luther King Day at Doc's old church

That's what I'm thinking about this Martin Luther King day.

But let's not forget today is also the last day of George W. Bush's presidency. The most unpopular president since Nixon, totally, but I think some people will ease up on his legacy in the coming decades. He was a often a bumbling goon, often stubborn, and often went about certain things the wrong way (not to mention, in an un-American way). Buuuuut, was it really that bad of a thing that he knocked Sadam from power in the Middle East? He played dirty no doubt, but Sadam was no angel either. Bush always meant well for us, that I am sure.

And I'm sorry, but his megaphone address to September 11 rescue workers in the middle of the clean up carnage, is one of the most uplifting moments I've seen from a politician--no cue cards, no footing around what he's trying to say--just "I hear you. The world hears you. We are America." That was a message of hope--our president in the dirt with us, talking in a megaphone.



Remember, we consoled in Bush when we came under attack that year. Bush was the light of hope we needed then. Barack is the light of hope we need now.

"Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone. So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America." - Barack Obama