While watching bits and pieces of the inauguration this afternoon, I kept catching myself tearing up. I really didn’t expect to cry at all.
After all, I am a white married woman in the suburbs.
I didn’t even vote for Barack Obama. I did get into a verbal altercation with the Obama bus on election night over my vote for Bob Barr. That was a proud moment in my life (and probably on the list of embarrassing moments in my husband’s life).
I really don’t agree with Obama’s politics.
Still, I cried.
I cried because this was a moment that the world changed.
The first time I remember the world changing was November 9th, 1989. I was seven years old at the time.That was the day the Berlin Wall came down. Sort of. But that part doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I remember watching it on the TV and being told by my grandfather that this would change everything. I couldn’t quite comprehend the why of its importance at the time but the moment has stayed with me in the years that have followed.
The second time I remember the world changing was September 11th, 2001. I was a sophomore in college and I had skipped class that morning (who really needs to Intro to Drawing at 8:30 in the morning anyway). I had spent the night in my boyfriend’s room and his roommate woke us up to watch. From a dorm room in Allentown, we watched a plane fly into the second tower and we watched the World Trade Center fall. I knew my world had changed yet again, punctuated with the fear of what could come.
And now that feeling has come a third time. I cried because I remembered the first two world changing events. I cried because this time felt different.
Sometimes our world changes and we are confused. We know something big is happening but we don’t quite understand the events that are taking place. Still, we rough up the edges of our memory to hold that moment in our minds. Understanding can come later when we’re ready.
Sometimes our world changes and we are scared. Not scared in a childish way, but a more mature, adult fear that we did not know that we were capable of feeling. We know changes are coming and quickly and we do not know how we will shift to accommodate those changes.
But sometimes our world changes and there is hope. That wonderful feeling of hope that sometimes is fleeting in adulthood. Hope is easier when you are smaller, when you are less aware of world. Every once and while, something happens that allows adults to hope in the same manner as they once did as children.
I don’t need to agree with President Obama or his policies to enjoy the feeling of hope that I find surrounds most of my peers. The face that provides that feeling of hope really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the feeling is there.
So today, our world changed. And it will change again. I’m not so foolish to believe that this is it for the world or for America. But the change happened. How will you remember it? How will you tell your children and grandchildren about it? What pieces of today will be pulled out and cling to the edges of your memory?
Norcross said...
1I was fortunate(?) that both my son and I were both sick as heck today, so we both watched it at home. Granted, he’s 17 months, so I doubt he knew what was going on. But knowing that in his life, there will have always been at least one minority president will make me smile.
01/20/09 7:39 PM | Comment Link
Rebecca said...
2I teared up too. It was a powerful moment and I think you described it well why it was such a moment for everyone, regardless of politics. Great post!
01/21/09 10:47 AM | Comment Link
Megs said...
3I will remember when Obama danced with his wife at the Neighborhood Ball. Beyonce was singing “At Last” and before I had even thought about it, I was tearing up. Yes I am SO grateful for a unified nation and for the historical moment that it is. But at this moment I was thankful for a President that has shown the importance of his family and is not shy to show a nation that his wife is the love of his life. We could use some more of that hope, too.
01/21/09 12:38 PM | Comment Link
Dorie said...
4@Norcross – I tried explaining it to my nieces yesterday and they stared at me like I had two heads (and they are 6 and 8). Someday you’ll be able to tell your son that he watched it on TV and it will be part of his history as a person.
@Megs – I love watching the dynamic in that family too. There was something about watching him hold his younger daughter’s hand that caught my breath. Her father may be the commander in chief and her place in the world is still next to her father. What a great reminder of what real priorities look like.
01/21/09 3:18 PM | Comment Link
Charlotte said...
5I’ll remember his daughter using her digital camera throughout the day. To me it represents not only her generation, but her normalacy.
01/23/09 9:07 AM | Comment Link