https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/amanda-gorman-inaugural-poem-transcript/index.html
Very powerful performance – she expresses and speaks beyond her years.
There is a sense of positivity that is rooted in realism, which is refreshing. As often optimism is seen through rose-colored glasses. When optimism is strong, so is a strong sense of denial – or at least personally that is the case.
I connect to the lines in which she speaks of “purpose” rather than “perfect.”
I’ve always been taught to strive for perfection. And that is what I’ve done. Sometimes without purpose. We lose sight of others as people and become much less aware of what is really happening. On a larger social scale, it’s also really easy to lose sight of the purpose of things, which should be about the people, but then it becomes more about the principles and we forget what, why, and who we are doing it for. We forget that deep down, we all really want the same thing for ourselves and one another. This poem is a great reminder of that. Bringing back awareness to the true point of politics.