With all our talk of faith, here and in the culture, we often lose track of the fact that faith is not confined to religion.
We also have faith in our institutions and those who lead us. While these have been frayed and torn by the last eight years, all of us who watched the Inauguration had a new chance at restoring that faith.
Most of us in my little workplace took our lunch into the meeting room and watched on the television.
It was great to share this moment.
It was even greater when I watched Barack Obama take the oath of office. Because something huge happened that got obscured by Robert's messing up his part, and the camera angles most broadcasts used.
I saw a micro-expression.
More on the flip:
Some people might be familiar with the extraordinary work of Paul Ekman. I read his first book in the early '80's, and have been a fan (in the geeky science way) ever since. His work is about to reach a whole new audience with the TV show, Lie to Me, ironically appearing tonight at 9pm on... Fox.
One of Ekman's great insights has to do with micro-expressions. In his work on deception, it has found fame with its utility with lie-catching.
But it can also be truth-revealing.
I don't even know what channel we were watching at work when Obama took the oath. Unlike any of the youtube videos I searched (maybe someone can find one) this was taken full face of Obama, with no one else in frame. After Roberts messes him up, he graciously continues, and promises to:
...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
And there's a flicker of suppressed emotion which can barely be seen from the side.
But full face, it's clear.
It's pain.
I voted, in part, for Obama the Constitutional scholar. Not like Roberts, who is a bright man determined to twist its original meaning. But a true scholar who understands the words, and their intention, and their promise.
Most of Ekman's work is about lying, and this is not deception on Obama's face. It is the suppressing of an emotion which would be given full force in the speech he gave immediately after; one which tears apart the lies and arrogance that brought us to this day.
I have seen the way Obama greets crowds, but I have also seen how he treats his family. Unlike so many other politicians, he never regards them as window dressing up on the stage. Others look at their wives to make sure they are in their place. Obama looks at his wife to share the moment with her, and make sure she is comfortable before he continues.
And I have never seen anything like the way he handles the common shout from the crowd, "We love you!" Without missing a beat, and with no insincerity that I can detect, he says, "I love you too."
I think he means it.
And when he was asked to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" he should be proud and thrilled to do so. And he is.
But there was that flash of pain.
Because this compassionate man, who wants nothing more than for everyone to get along, knows he will need to do more. He will have to re-instate, he will have to mend, he will have to restore the Constitution.
He's going to have to come down on some people to do so.
He will.
I believe he will. So I am secure in my biggest worries about the new administration; will they go after the shredding of our Nation's most precious foundation? Will they hold some people accountable?
In the pain I saw for a brief instant at the sound of the word "Constitution," I had my answer.
It will be difficult, with all else he has on the table, to disrupt political affiliations and take some hits when, some argue, there is all that suffering to alleviate.
But our Constitution IS America, isn't it?
And we can give all the pain meds in the world, when what the heart attack patient needs is to have their heart started again.
I believe we have a President who recognizes the hard work of restoring our rights will require delicate handling and a lot of behind the scenes maneuvering. But if anyone can do it...
Yes, he can.