On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama will be sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

On inauguration day, for those watching live in Washington, DC, it won’t be a comfortable occasion but definitely a very memorable experience. The crowd expected to hit the U.S. capital on inauguration day will number approximately 2 million. According to CNN’s website, it will be like the New Year’s Eve crowd in Time’s Square multiplied by twelve with tighter security. Routes like I-395, I-66, bridges across the Potomac River that run into Washington, and routes coming from Virginia will be temporarily shut down for the event.

The inauguration is actually part of a series of celebrations that start on Saturday, January 17 where President-Elect Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden will go on a train tour with stops in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, Baltimore, Maryland and then finally Washington. The following day, Sunday, January 18, there will be a free welcome event at Lincoln Memorial steps which will be exclusively broadcasted by HBO. A few of my favorite performers will strut their stuff like Beyoncé, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Usher Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Will.I.Am and Stevie Wonder, and a cast of others. There will also be an event on Monday, January 19 celebrating Martin Luther King’s legacy.

There will most likely be no problem for those watching at home. The inauguration will be covered by the news and cable networks such as CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC but also covered by networks for the first time such as the Black Entertainment Network (BET), TV One, Nickelodeon (a children’s network), HBO, ESPN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, to name a few. So on January 20, it will be like groundhog’s day when you turn on your TV sets. Every channel you switch to will most likely be covering the event.

The world watching will witness the result of what Obama described as “the true genius of America”, that America can change and a more perfect union can be realized. He further states, “…that nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change”. You cannot go wrong with a message of the audacity to hope for a better future. It is so positive it’s contagious that the effect was coming out of millions of people to vote during the November ’08 U.S. Presidential elections. It reminded me of the ’86 people power revolution in the Philippines where a similar occurrence brought an end to an administration because of a message of change.

Although in response to the issue of race, in Obama’s speech in Philadelphia, his statement can also be related to the immigrant struggle. He stated that although “we may have different stories… we hold common hopes… we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place… but we all want to move in the same direction… towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.”

What we can learn from the Obama story is that change is possible in our lives. That anything is possible. That one can overcome all obstacles and adversities as long as one has the audacity to hope for a better future for oneself and family. Sometimes hope is found in the American dream or in distant lands, which separates immigrants from loved ones but they push forward because as Obama puts it, “there has never been anything false about hope.”

Best wishes to Barack Obama!

Atty. Michael Templo is an attorney admitted to practice law in New York State and Federal Courts and is a partner at Templo & Templo with offices in New York, USA and Makati City, Philippines. Atty. Templo specializes in US Immigration matters. The discussion above is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional. For your comments and questions, Atty. Templo can be reached at mdt@templolaw.com or log on to www.templolaw.com.