For Alexandra

I want to be a face in the crowd.

Watching the Obama inauguration on TV and online, I was moved by the millions that gathered on the Mall. Ordinary people, most of whom weren’t able to see this new president except on large screens erected for the occasion, stood there for hours, in the cold, just for the opportunity to say ‘I was there’.

I want that.

I want to be drawn to something that is so deeply powerful that I am compelled to be at a specific place on a specific day at a specific time to bear witness.

I want to be there with my family, with my husband and with my daughter.

I want to hold her on my shoulders so she can see the size the crowd she is a part of, feel the twitchy energy of anticipation and perhaps, hold onto the memory of this powerful moment so, years later she can say of that point when her nation changed ‘I was there’.

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Posted in Idle thoughts, In the news |

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 8:39 am and is filed under Idle thoughts, In the news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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2 comments

 No.1 
Christianne Vachon:

I’m not sure yet how deep the changes in the US will run, though I’m confident Obama and his team have some great ideas and the energy and courage to try and make them work. Sometimes it just feels like we’re all a big school of fish darting back and forth together aimlessly. Anyway, I felt the collective hope. On the weekend there was a radio show on about Barbara Ehrenreich’s new book: http://www.alternet.org/story/50126/ on collective joy and how we all need to have those experiences more often. I try and fill my life with group experiences because they make me feel alive: eating lunch in the busy market, going to mass, going to concerts, going to political rallies. When I was barely 20, I was 10 feet from the podium in a huge crowd at the Château Laurier when Pierre Trudeau said “Welcome to the 80’s” and my heart just swelled with hope. Your piece made me think of it instantly. I wish that for my daughter too. Beautiful bit of writing Lisa.

January 21st, 2009 at 11:38 am
 No.2 
Wahkuna:

I watched it online, and I remember thinking to the fetus, “Baby, remember this moment. You were here, watching it online (even though you’re still inside).” For the baby, I’m not sure I can rationally argue for witnessing something you’ll never remember, or even be able to see or hear. For me, just watching it online still made me feel like part of the wider community bc of twittering, blogs, news releases, commentators. I didn’t add my two cents (except for now), but I could have, if I wanted to. I was a metaphorical face in the electronic crowds.

I have had those shared euphoric moments in the crowd, and you’re right, this isn’t quite the same. But it was pretty close for sitting at home at my desk.

January 21st, 2009 at 12:23 pm

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