Jak's blog
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Today I’m feeling a bit more serious than usual.

As usual, I have been reading lots of American blogs. Naturally, the main topic over the last weeks has been what is expected of the new president.

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Today has been a celebration but that poor man must feel he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The tasks he has set himself appear so daunting.

I’ve learnt so much about the US and about Americans just by reading the blogs of individuals. I certainly don’t have time to read newspapers as well, and I would not have picked up half of it from the radio and TV news I catch.

For example, I’d not have heard of the controversial Proposition 8 (banning of marriages between same sex couples), which has been passed in some states and not others. It means that some gay couples who do wish to make that commitment to each other have to cross state lines to do so, then go home and pretend they haven’t.

Nor would I have known that Pastor Rick Warren, who led the prayers at the presidential inauguration ceremony today, holds the passionate conservative belief that Proposition 8 is right. So Obama’s choice of him has been questioned as not being in keeping with his policies about civil rights. But the blogger I’ve been reading today generously concluded that in the end, inclucivity means accepting that the views of others who mean well are legitimate, even if she did not share them. She says

“That means that just as I ask others to accept my viewpoints and beliefs, I must accept theirs. Rick Warren is a man whose beliefs do not align with mine. But, like me, he is an American who loves his country and God.”

You can read more of this here.

I also realise, through reading their blogs, how much more organised religion means to Americans than it does to most of us Brits, me included. My beliefs are private and I don’t feel obligated to worship in a church. In the past I’ve met much hypocrisy there and tend to avoid services, though I like visiting churches, when they are empty of congregations, for their art and their peace and reverence. (I know – I’m hypocrite too).