Yesterday, the president-elect, his #2 guy, their families, and a whole host of enthusiastic artists welcomed legions of people to this week's inaugural events. Various outlets-- Salon.com, Washington Post, National Park Service-- put the number of people on the Washington Mall at between 400,000 and 800,000 souls. I tend to lean toward the higher number myself. To give yourself a mental picture, envision every person who lives in Sacramento squished into the 2 mile space between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. This is a small snippet of what it looked like:
People began showing up at 8:00 a.m. for the 2:30 p.m. event. We got there around 11:00 or so. We had a lot of time to pass, so people took to their usual avocations in situations like this:
Katie just chillin'
Young people hacky sacking.
While we were waiting, we watched images from one of more than a dozen jumbo-tron screens, including video clips of Americans from everywhere talking about what America means to them, what change what means to them, and other vignettes of inspiration. The theme of the event was, "We Are One".
One of the things that struck me, was that there were several clips from Barack Obama, taped the day before from his whistle stop tour, where he was speaking directly to us at the Mall, encouraging us to be patient, that he would be there soon, and to stay warm. I was impressed by that.
I thought about what would have been on my mind that day if I were in his shoes—what I would be saying at the next stop, remembering that it was my wife’s birthday that day, checking after my two young children, getting briefings about events and issues, planning for Tuesday’s inaugural address, taking pains not to spill anything on myself, etc. And yet, he also remembered us, and that we would be waiting for him in the cold. He is about to be leader of the free world, and yet, we are on his mind. How refreshing!
As the Mall filled up, there were people crowded everywhere. If you look into the background of this picture, you will see people sitting on top of the porta-potties to get a direct view of the stage at the Lincoln Memorial. Not sure I would have made that trade-off. The jumbo-tron view-- without the porta-potty smell-- was fine by me!
The concert kicked off with Bruce Springsteen singing The Rising. Most everyone in the crowd was singing along.
The rest of the entertainment was woven together with other performers-- Stevie Wonder, Denzel Washington, Mary J. Blige, Steve Carrell, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Jon Legend, John Mellencamp, Will.i.am, Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock, Garth Brooks, Tiger Woods, Shakira, Forest Whittaker, Tom Hanks, U2, Queen Latifah, and Pete Seeger.
I was impressed by how even the stars held fast to the common purpose Obama says binds us all. When some of the comedians came forward to address the crowd, many of us held our breaths, panicked that we might hear them cutting up during this auspicious event. And yet, Steve Carrell gave a rousing reading from the writings of Abraham Lincoln. For all that Steve Carrell might be, and for the narrow scope of ways in which we identify to him, he too, believes in the change that Obama is brining to our nation.
Another thing that struck me, is that as the event unfolded, the cameras would cut to the Obamas, and they were doing the same thing as the rest of us! When Stevie Wonder was singing, everyone around me was dancing and moving to the music, and so were the Obamas. It was another confirmation that they are us, and we are them. We are One.
Obama gave an amazing speech at the end of the event, encouraging us to take responsibility for ourselves, and one another, and to remain in unity as we all strive to make America the place that we know it can me.
As we were leaving, I saw a small act of that very sentiment in action. Both Katie and Jesse were shocked, and revolted as we went to leave, and we saw all the trash being left behind. Jesse said, "Mom, this is our national monument!"
Katie picked up a cardboard box that had been intended to be a trash receptacle, and had instead been used as a ground cover for seating on the dry grass.
Without saying a word, the kids began picking up trash in our area and assembling trash receptacles to remedy the problem. We cleaned up a wide area around where we had been sitting, and then headed out with the rest of the huge crowd.
It occurred to me, that the kids had just done the very thing that Obama is calling us to:
Be responsible for yourselves. Be responsible for others. Pitch in. Get the job done.
It really is that simple.
Today has been proclaimed as a national day of service. I hope all of you will find a way to do just that. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Call a friend and make sure they are doing okay. Pick up litter in your neighborhood. Make America the place we want it to be.
I'll post more pics soon. For now, we're off to take in more of the nation's capital.
