U.S. Politics: The Inauguration of President Barack Obama

On the 13th January 2009, the feast day of St. Hilary of Poitiers will be marked by the Roman Catholic Church. St. Hilary was born at the beginning of the fourth century and was elected Bishop of Poitiers in 350. He fought strongly against Arianism and was exiled by the Emperor Constantius. Most of his works are full of wisdom and learning, directed to the strengthening of the Catholic faith and the correct interpretation of ancient Scripture.

I open with this recognition of a relatively unknown saint by way of giving a form of commentary on what will happen on January 20th in the United States. I may well be asked why I have chosen to bring an initially Christian reference into a post about the 44th Presidential Inauguration of President elect, Mr. Barack Obama.

That is of course a valid point. Religion is such a precarious subject and one which has many commentators.   It has, in its many guises been used as an excuse for war and peace.  It is also very dangerous to typecast a future President of the ‘free world’ in a curiously Christian saint-like manner.

However, Religion and Politics are somewhat inseperable in all eras. The Historian Alan Ford, wrote of Irish History that Religion and national Identity is like “one of those natural twins [with] a seemingly inescapable combination”1. The same can be tagged alongside that of British histiography, German histiography and even the most recent of histories, that of the United States of America.  Of course religion is also a method of control. As a friend mentioned to me recently, the Karl Marx quote “Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes” – Religion is the Opium of the People.

When the President elect Obama, takes to the National Mall tomorrow, he will swear before the Supreme Court Chief Justice and the People of the United States whom he will serve for the next four years…

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Invariably however, Presidents have included the phrase “so help me God” at the end of their Speeches.

However I deeply believe Faith and State should never be intermixed.  Faith is a personal belief which, while it guides a personal life, should remain separate in political office. The nature of Statehood is such that it should, in theory remain above the personal – to borrow a cliché – for the greater good. This I believe Mr. Obama, currently, has a hell of a lot of respect for, the greater good. His faith I am sure has led him along he way up to this point. Now however he serves a greater cause – that of serving his people in the highest political office in the land.

I do not wish to beatify the President-elect, as many seem so eager to do. I do believe he will have his problems. In the first couple of weeks, he is facing the introduction of a new fiscal policy, which will define how and where the next phase of the Earth’s development happens.  That future development may not necessarily lie in the hands of the United States of America. He faces major Environmental challenges, some of which if not tackled soon, will haunt all of us in the next Century. This is before he goes into Congress and the House of Representatives to ask for their help on any of these issues. Good Will at the moment is not lacking. That will not always be the case.

In the face of all this, Mr. Obama must at least try to remember that he is not a slave to the opinion poll. Obviously he must listen to his people when the time requires. However these decisions are not going to be easy and it will be reflected in the polls at some stage over the next four years.

So what does St. Hilary of Poitiers have to do with the inauguration tomorrow? Well there is not much. Both Men have risen through the ranks of their respective institutions. Both men have fought adversity; St. Hilary and the Romans, Barack Obama and Hilary and latterly McCain. I of course am being slightly flippant about Obama’s claim to overcoming adversity. He has achieved much in his short life.  Both men also are incredibly wise and have considered opinions.

Finally both have lived in their time. St. Hilary lived in his. Barack Obama will live to the fullest in his.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

1 Alan Ford, ‘Religion and National Identity’ at the Annual Conference of the Irish Association 1999.
On www.irish-assocation.org/archives/alan_ford11_99.html accessed 18th February 2005.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Lawsuit wants ‘so help me God’ out of inaugural
• Observe, This is how it is done.