This past week a number of rednoW members and friends headed to the Sundance Film Festival to look and listen in on the quiet artistic dialogues taking place in the backroom, underneath the roar of the mass media.  At this same time most of the rest of us turn our attention east to the inauguration of a new president.

Regardless of who you voted for in November, there seems to be a sense among people on both sides of the aisle that our country finds itself at a fork in the road.  At this fork there is much talk - some of doomsday prophesies, and some of hope and resiliency - and all of this coming in a flood all at once.

It is in the face of these doomsday prophesies that people from both parties speak of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.  It was in this environment (and the freezing cold of Washington DC) that Bruce Springsteen took the stage at the inauguration of Barack Obama.  It is Springsteen's gift to be able to capture the sentiment of middle America and the people, and this gift was given in its fullest during Springsteen's performance in DC.

Last week we heard the first sounds of the days to come. Some greet them with relief, and others are skeptical, wanting to see and hear more before they pass judgment. There may be those who feel they have heard this all before, saying it is nothing new, rather it is the same old thing just nuanced differently.  While there are still others for whom it sounds like a brand of hope that is desperately needed in these trying times. 

Sure, some feel that a rock star and politician need to be separated like church and state, but that doesn’t appear to be an option. This voice has something to say and people are listening. They are buying up t-shirts, hats, buttons and bumper stickers touting their love of the vision. For better or worse, he’s in power and the youth of America are listening.

But can what is coming ever live up to the hype? Is there any chance of not disappointing many, if not most? Humans are incapable of perfection—we all know that—but for some, the stakes are higher. The critics will line up and jump at the chance to say, “boo!” They already are.

Last week we heard the first sounds of the days to come. Some greet them with relief, and others are skeptical, wanting to see and hear more before they pass judgment. There may be those who feel they have heard this all before, saying it is nothing new, rather it is the same old thing just nuanced differently.  While there are still others for whom it sounds like a brand of hope that is desperately needed in these trying times.

Sure, some feel that rock star and politician need to be separated like church and state, but that doesn’t appear to be an option. This voice has something to say and people are listening. They are buying up t-shirts, hats, buttons and bumper stickers touting their love of the vision. For better or worse, he’s in power and the youth of America are listening.

But can what is coming ever live up to the hype? Is there any chance of not disappointing many, if not most? Humans are incapable of perfection—we all know that—but for some, the stakes are higher. The critics will line up and jump at the chance to say, “boo!” They already are.

In a world where to run for office or interview for a job or find a mate seems to mean "putting our best foot forward," (which is really just a sugarcoated way of telling us to hide our faults and brokenness, right?) it can seem that to be fully known excludes us from ever being fully loved.