A Few Minutes with Barak Obama, and Inspiration from U.S. History

I was hanging out with Barak Obama the other day and I snapped this picture.  Also, if you look real close, to the right side of the picture you can see another special guest, Abraham Lincoln.  Ok, so this was actually an animatronic Barak Obama, it was still pretty cool.  We were at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and they had just added Barak Obama to their Hall of Presidents.  As exciting as it may sound, The Hall of Presidents isn’t on our typical to do list when we head out to the Magic Kingdom for an afternoon of fun.  Upon entering the park, I noticed on the show schedule, there was a special little highlight indicating the addition.  Being that we hadn’t been through the Hall of Presidents in a while, I figured we should pop over and check it out.  It wasn’t at all what I remembered as a child.  I remembered a hall of wax figures.  I’m not sure if that was just what my imagination created or if that is actually how it used to be.

In any case, the Hall of Presidents as it is today, is an auditorium.  The show begins with a movie highlighting the early times in American history; the forming of the country and the leaders important to this overwhelming achievement.  I can barely fathom the drive in these great men as they rallied a call for freedom and created an independent country.  It’s awe inspiring to say the least.  I’m including a snippet from the Declaration of Independence below.  It’s such an amazingly well written and perfectly worded document.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

It’s pretty easy to gain inspiration just by reading it.  The show continued with the animatronic Presidents.  Each President introduced himself in the order in which they served.  I always understood that we had a lot of Presidents in our history, but seeing them all standing there really puts some perspective on just how many people have held that title.  The early presidents were especially interesting, as the whole election process seemed a lot less political, and the candidates a better representation of the people they served.

Going through the Hall of Presidents set a great tone for the rest of the day.  I felt inspired and happy.  If you happy to be visiting the Magic Kingdom, I recommend checking it out.  If a trip to Florida isn’t in your plans, then take a couple minutes and read through the documents that helped form our country.  If you don’t live in the U.S., then perhaps read through the documents that helped form your own country.  In any case, it’s sure to be inspirational.  Here’s the link to the full Declaration of Independence if you want to read through it.  http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.Htm

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Tagged as: Disney, Happiness, History