Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Inauguration





Once inside the barricades, I follow the now-dispersed flow of people toward the center of the mall. Aretha Franklin is singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" as I find a couple of excellent spots to view the proceedings with magnificent views up to the inaugural dais (top and second photo) and behind down the mall to the Washington monument (third photo). There's actually a fair amount of room in this area (thanks to the sheer ineptitude in crowd management that left some thousands of ticket holders locked out). I try dialing my party but give up when the connection won't go through. So I give up to take in the moment.

The crowd is alternately hushed and elated. There's a heavy sense of the historical moment. When Obama repeats the short oath of office a giant cheer goes up, and travels like a wave down the massive crowd on the mall. When he takes the podium for his inaugural address (second photo above; click to see the blowup and you can see his small figure at the podium) he draws cheer after cheer; many are crying, and not just the black people. Everyone is touched that our country has made this milestone.

Obama's talk combines words about the current political challenges we face with a reminder of the American values and virtues that have made our country great; he really makes only small note of the history of this occasion, in which a black man is sworn in as president on the steps that black slaves built 200 years ago. (Click to read the complete text .)

Aside from the stirring words, the sights in both directions add to the emotion. Looking forward to the capitol, decked with national colors on a sunny day; and behind, down the capital mall at the million-plus mass of people, is a bit akin to beholding a natural phenomenon -- say, the Grand Canyon from a high vantage point, or Glacier Park at sunset. You take it in but you can't fully process it. You just bask in it.

If the act of coming across the country to this event has felt a bit like a pilgrimage, the moments just afterward feel like a combination of a graduation ceremony for our country, and a marriage between the voters and a new administration. After the ceremony has ended, people mill around, whoop, laugh and cry and pose for photos; that's Sandy at bottom, after coming across the kids that had been standing in line just ahead of us. They're bonded in the shared experience and the adversity of the Line Experience.

Many people head out directly, but others just wait to bask in the sights and feelings.

(Concludes next post above)

No comments:

Post a Comment