printable versionVantage Point: Choice of inaugural Bible both historic and symbolic
BY PATRICIA KARLIN-NEUMANN
Patricia Karlin-Neumann
President Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of change. Yet, valuing tradition, he took the oath of office with the Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration 148 years ago.
"Facing a nation divided, teetering toward civil war, President Lincoln used his first inaugural address to call for national unity, arguing that our Constitution was created 'to form a more perfect Union,'" wrote blogger Amy Hamblin on the inaugural committee's website (http://www.pic2009.org).
"President-elect Barack Obama is echoing President Lincoln's call in words and in symbolism. He will be placing his hand upon the same burgundy velvet-bound Bible that was used by President Lincoln at his first inauguration as he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States," Hamblin added.
When Abraham Lincoln placed his hand on that burgundy velvet-bound Bible, it was opened at random. Several presidents have taken the oath of office on a closed Bible, as Obama did Tuesday. Others have chosen a particular text that they hoped would guide them in their presidency, telling us something about themselves and their aspirations.
Dwight Eisenhower selected Psalms for both of his inaugurations. In 1953, "Unless the Eternal builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the Eternal watches over the city, the watchmen keep vigil in vain" (Psalms 127:1). And in 1957, "Happy the nation whose God is the Eternal and the people God has chosen to be God's own" (Psalms 33:12).
Richard Nixon, a member of the pacifist Society of Friends and inheritor of the Vietnam War, chose for both of his inaugurations a prophetic text extolling peace: "Thus God will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war" (Isaiah 2:4).
When Nixon left office in disgrace, Gerald Ford entered the presidency touching these words from Proverbs (3:5-6): "Trust in the Eternal with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God and God will make your paths smooth."
Jimmy Carter selected Micha (6:8): "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Eternal requires of you: Only to do justice, to love goodness and to walk modestly with your God."
For some the presence of the Bible upon taking an oath of office, whether opened or closed, with a guiding verse or without one, is no more than a remnant of old practices, a ritual nod to the past amidst the inaugural panoply.
For others, the presence of this book, the central repository of the wisdom of Western religion, is not a trapping but an essential element of the event, confirming that however much authority the presidency of the United States of America may hold, there is a greater power still. However much attention is paid to the man and his achievements, there is a community of citizens to whom he is accountable and, beyond that, a Creator to whom he owes thanks.
Many presidents have chosen their family Bibles, ones given to them by a mother or a grandmother, for this moment of oath-taking. That Barack Obama chose a Bible used by a previous president, a Bible in the public domain (albeit under glass in the Library of Congress), a Bible associated with the struggles of our union, speaks to his understanding of the power of tradition to create change. As the executive director of his inaugural committee affirmed, "The President-elect is committed to holding an inauguration that celebrates the unity of America, and the use of this historic Bible will provide a powerful connection to our common past and common heritage."
When President Obama placed his hand on Lincoln's burgundy-velvet Bible, embodying change while upholding tradition, the commitment to unify the American people and to be claimed by and answerable to them not only resonated for him; it also motivated untold numbers of citizens, black and white, old and young, of every religious and cultural background, to travel to Washington, D.C., to be part of this extraordinary moment. Even in a time of economic downturn, millions of citizens wanted to touch history, to witness the sweet ripening of equality over prejudice, of intelligence over ignorance, of hope over despair.
Our new president has asked for our hands to be outstretched as well, in order to renew our country. "We need your service, right now, in this moment—our moment—in history," Obama said in a speech last summer in Colorado. "I'm not going to tell you what your role should be; that's for you to discover. But I am going to ask you to play your part; ask you to stand up; ask you to put your foot firmly into the current of history."
President Obama's inauguration is ours as well. If we can join together, if we can become a people ready to accept our own power and possibility, if we can believe, with our new president, that civility and compassion and community can be renewed in our country, then we, led and inspired by our new president, can be worthy of the promise of this moment.
Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann is senior associate dean for religious life.