Mitakuye Oyasin
By Robert Forto, PhD

Mitakuye Oyasin in Lakota means “we are all related” or loosely “as one”. I cannot help to think that today’s historic inauguration of President Barack Obama should bring us closer together as a nation, to make us stronger, to make us the most powerful nation in the world.

But as I look deeper into the eerie eye of politics and the intrigue of the Washington elite I ask myself: “will there really be change as Obama promised or will he alienate the people of this great country and mock our personal ideals and values in his rise to power?”

What brings me to this point, with all the pomp and circumstance that took place this day, with the two million people attending this historic event that will go down as an event like no other, is how Obama approached the whole thing.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Obama. I am interested in his approach and I am interested in what he wants to deliver. I am also a registered Independent. I am not some whacko 15-percenter-partisan-only Democrat or Republican. I vote only after a comprehensive, exhausting research of the candidates and their policies. Did you know that only fifteen percent of the people of this country vote strictly for the political agenda? The rest of us, the true mortal souls, vote for our principles and our beliefs.

What I don’t like is how Obama wrapped himself around Lincoln. Don’t you recall that Obama “chose” not to wear a flag lapel pin and was asked about it in his campaign because he said he was wrapping himself in the American flag? You were not wrapping yourself in the flag President Obama; but you are making a monument out of a man in your references to Lincoln. In using his bible for your oath into office, the train ride to Washington, in the countless pictures of you at the Lincoln memorial. What has Obama done with his approach to this inauguration and the inclusion of the symbolism of one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln? Obama has wrapped himself around a monument. Not Lincoln the man, but Lincoln the monument. Not the man that he was, and Lincoln was a great man, a great president, a great leader, but Obama is assuming the mantel of the monument of Lincoln and that makes me mad and I don’t want to be.

I remember the events of September 11, 2001 vividly and I know, of course, that these events changed history. It prompted every American to become patriots of our great society and our great nation and we chose to show our pride by placing American flags in our front yards and we wore flag lapel pins on our suit jackets and our coats, among other things. We were proud to be Americans and we rejoiced in the fact that we were a nation of one again. I wrote about this Americana in a research paper while I was earning my doctorate. It was titled The Churchill Controversy (Madison University 2001). I have since researched this more and have changed my views on my opinions of the time but that is not the point. This inauguration brings me eerily back to those days and weeks after 9/11 when we as a nation wanted to feel good again. When we wanted to have something to hold on to, when we wanted to have something to sink our teeth in and say “We are all related!”

But in a campaign where Obama said over and over and over again was not about race, was not about creed and was not about being black or white, the events of today made it clear to me that maybe there was an undercurrent of this that followed through the veins of this great historic event. We took a simple man, Lincoln and made him a rock star and that is not right. Obama skittered in on Lincoln’s coat-tails because he thought that was the right thing to do. I guess he thought that would make America proud again. He thought that it would bring us closer together. He thought that his Lincoln references would heal old wounds. But did they?

But while President Obama is making a mantle of Lincoln does he have the courage to stand by his convictions that we have heard so well in his eloquent MLK-esque speeches and his political promises to bring us closer together or will he choose to parlay the responsibility after it is too late?

Does Obama have the courage to stand up and fight for what he believes in or will he succumb to the same old Washingtonian politics that we have gotten so used to? I don’t want to be mad. I want to be supportive. I want to see this nation overcome our paralyzing weakness in this media-biased, fear based, economy and have the fortitude to stand by our convictions and become One again. I want us to become a nation of equals, a nation of strength and moral values that people all over the world will recognize. I want to be able to look back on this event when my grandkids are in history class and say, yes we triumphed and we are a stronger nation for it.

But I don’t know if that is possible. I think our nation is fractured. I think that we want change. I think we expect it but is Obama the right man for the job or his he just shadowing a monument?

Obama has made himself a mantle to Lincoln and he has become President of the United States. Obama is no longer a man. Obama as President has the responsibility to correct history. Is he up for the challenge? Where Bush is no longer President, he is now just a man. For the past seven years Bush has done everything in his power to keep us safe. That has been a tremendous feat. I am sure he has lost sleep over it. Say what you want about Bush and his failed policies, his ignorant approach to the Iraq War, but one thing you cannot deny is he cared about our safety. But that is now on President Obama’s shoulders. Is he prepared for that burden? Former-President Bush’s job is done. Will he sleep better tonight? I hope so.

Back to our Lakota reference: I have spent many a day in a sweat lodge. I have said many prayers for my friends and my enemies. I have suffered in the inpi for past wrongs and have asked for forgiveness. And when I leave Mother Earth’s womb we are Mitakuye Oyasin, we are all related. So tonight I ask that you say a prayer of thanks for anything that George Bush did do. I ask that you say a prayer of healing for anyone who might feel angry today that they may be their best person possible, and I ask you for a prayer for our military leaders and our troops that they may have bravery, courage, and honor, and one last prayer for our new President that he may have vision.

As actor, Denzel Washington said today, “It’s not about what the President says or does, it’s about all of us”. And I hope we all come out of this: Mitakuye Oyasin.

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Dr. Robert Forto has a doctorate in Communications and is routinely published in local and national publications. He can be reached through his website at www.inekaproject.org