The topic for today is to "Look out your window, write what you see" which would be a great exercise in descriptive writing. But I will use my imagination today, and pretend I am in a hotel room high above the National Mall in Washington D.C. because today is a day like no other.
So from my hotel window, here is what I see, feel and hear.
There are tens of thousands of people lining the mall and the streets of our nation's capital. The celebratory sounds fill the air and rise high above the streets, making everywhere you go, anywhere you are, a party. Every once in a while, there will be a huge, collective noise of shouting as some dignitary, celebrity or event happens that awakens the crowd. And you just know that this is a moment in history that will never be forgotten. Like the time the lights went out on the entire eastern seaboard, or the Kennedy assassination, and of course, 9/11, we all will know exactly what we were doing when Barack Obama was sworn in as our first black president.
I asked John just yesterday, "Did we make this big a fuss for Bush? For Clinton? For Kennedy even?" "No, I don't think so," came the answer. So why are we making such a big fuss now? I think it's because our country has been through a terrible eight years. President Bush will go down as the worse president in U.S. history. We have suffered economic losses, military defeat, apathy, job losses, even our 'place in the world' as the best democracy ever has been compromised. People around the world hate us. But it's all different today. Today, we make a big change. I see thousands of police officers, secret service and military personnel from my window, all there with one goal in mind, to keep our new president safe. There are those who are unhappy about our president being black, and who will try to hurt or kill him. Those people are the unenlightened, the ignorant, and the evil. They refuse to give anyone a chance who looks different from themselves.
I see a country on the verge of a great change. And whether or not President Obama goes down in history as a good president, a great president or a bad president, one thing is for sure, he has brought this country, indeed, the world, together in a way that not one of his predecessors ever has. He made us all sit up and take notice. People who never voted before, never gave a rats' ass about politics before are paying attention, and eager to see what happens next.
I see a country that has been given a second chance. I hope we don't blow it. There are some, my own son included, who have bought into the fear that the far right has been forcing down their throats, telling them that this man is a Muslim (he's not, but so what if he was?), that he will bring our country down, that he will cause us great harm. But if we can look past all that and see what good he has done so far, maybe those people will be more open and wait to pass judgement. He hasn't done anything but good things so far, there is nothing to complain about, yet. Give peace a chance!
I remember the labels "whites only." I remember the lynchings and the segregation and the race riots. I remember Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech. That the media is calling us "Post Racial America" makes be believe that there has been a shift. The American people are ready to embrace tolerance. And that is no small feat.
From my imaginary hotel room I see a country on a quest to become great again. And I say "Yes we can!"
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