The second inauguration of Barack Obama marked the beginning of the second term of Obama as the President and Joe Biden as the Vice President. The swearing-in ceremony was a private one, which took place on Sunday, January 20, 2013, in the White House. The grand inauguration ceremony happened on Monday, January 21, 2013, at the Capitol Building in the United States.
Inaugural address
The theme of the inauguration ceremony was “Faith in America’s future”. The inaugural events started on January 19th in Washington D.C. The inaugural address by Obama was a very inspiring one. He stressed on the need for laws to tackle climatic changes, control of guns in the country, immigration reforms, etc. He said that improvement is necessary for the area of human and civil rights including rights of Women, LGBT, and racial minority. Almost one million people attended the ceremony.
Other events (Pre-inaugural and post-inaugural)
Other than the swearing-in ceremony, the events included concerts, community service, luncheon and parade, balls, prayer service, etc.
Before the inauguration, there was a kids’ inaugural session at the Washington Convention Centre. The theme of the day was ‘service’; keeping that in mind Obama spoke to the children about the need to become engaged in public service.
After the official swearing in and inaugural address, there was a grand luncheon where Obama, dined with selected members of Congress and some special guests at Capitol.
The luncheon was followed by a parade starting from Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W and ending at the White House.
Two official inaugural balls were held on January 21 as a part of second inauguration celebrations. President and the first lady danced to the tune of ‘Let’s Stay Together’ by Al Green. There were other performances also by professionals. A private ball for the staffs of White House was held on January 22.
A National Prayer service was carried out at the Washington National Cathedral on January 22, 2013. Obama, Michelle, Vice President Biden and his wife attended the service. Dignitaries of diverse faiths were also there.
Response to the inaugural address
Obama’s words were welcomed with huge applause by the crowd. The loudest reaction came with his remarks about equality for women and LGBTs. The crowd included men, women, and trans genders. People belonging to different races were also there. When Obama spoke about the rights of the racial minorities, racial minority groups working as domestic helpers in companies such as, Homemaids, Justmop, Maids In Qatar, etc. were overwhelmed. Their expectations about the new reforms were clearly visible in their cheers and applause for the president.
The whole speech was about his plans for liberal and progressive programs, and can be read in detail at www.nytimes.com. Political critics were of the opinion that the second inaugural speech of Obama would be marked in history as it was during this speech he explained why he is a progressive.
With all the events and the excellent speech, the second inaugural ceremony was a grand function giving the attendees a lifelong memory to cherish.
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