On Jan. 20 George Walker Bush placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn in the second time as President of the United States. He recited the 35- word oath that every president has spoken since 1789 avowing to "faithfully execute the office of President, and … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The 55th Presidential Inauguration was marked by pomp and splendor – a solemn event, but a time for celebration as well. It was a momentous occasion that marked the endurance of freedom and democracy in the United States of America.

Prayers were offered at the Inauguration in spite of atheist Michael Newdow’s attempt to ban such expressions of religion. On the day prior to the Inauguration Newdow’s case was dismissed because the Supreme Court Justices said he couldn’t prove actual injury based on prayer during the Inauguration.

The President seemed to state the central theme of his inaugural address with the words: "We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

This year’s festivities at the nation’s capitol marked the first inaugural since 9/11 and security efforts were ramped up to the highest level. Long lines were the order of the day at every checkpoint. Thousands of protestors, claiming their first amendment rights, attempted to rain on the President’s swearing in ceremony and the parade that followed.

The protestors were vocal and persisted in shouting antiphonally with one group shouting: "Bush must go!" Another group responding, "When?" and the first group answering, "Now!"

The dissidents carried signs denigrating the president: "Born Again Liar," "Impeach Bush," "Help the Iraqi Resistance," "Worst President Ever," and "Atheists Have Moral Values." One sign read, "Anarchy is Possible." Some carried orange flags, like the ones used in the Ukraine, to show that they rejected the election of George Bush. At least one protestor was seen burning an American flag.

A website called "Anarchist Resistance to the 2005 Presidential Inauguration" says, "The U.S. Presidential Inauguration is one of the grandest ceremonies of the ruling class in the land. As anarchists, it is prime opportunity to shatter these illusions of grandeur by crashing this decadent display of arrogance and wealth. This January 20th, let’s bring anarchy to the streets of DC – make resistance visible, and ring in the next four years with a smash!"

One group turned over one of the metal detectors at a security checkpoint in an effort to bypass the system designed to protect the President and those in leadership positions. In some cases people who had paid significant sums of money to be able to view the parade from bleachers on Pennsylvania Avenue were trapped in bottlenecks created by the "anarchists." From my vantage point the thousands of law enforcement officers employed to maintain peace did little to discourage the dissenters and even less to help those who were never able to find their way to their desired destination.

Although there were attempts to pelt the Presidential motorcade with trash, our Commander in Chief and his entourage were kept safe throughout the whole experience for which all of us should be grateful.

I wonder what our forefathers really had in mind when they wrote the first amendment to the by-laws of our constitution. That amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

It is amazing that we can place such restrictions on our society so as to take the Ten Commandments out of the public square and look with derision upon someone who prays in Jesus’ name at a corporate event or take prayer out of our schools and yet give unlimited license to selfproclaimed anarchists.

Rights without responsibility, liberty without limits, lead to chaos. We need to remember the words of the Apostle Paul, who said, "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13).

Though the attempts of the protestors to disrupt the Inauguration were considerable, the ceremony and accompanying events took place in spite of their "slings and arrows." In the end, George W. Bush was ushered into his second term as President and will have his name immortalized as the leader of the free world. On the other hand, who ever heard of a monument to a caviling critic?