It's just after 2 AM as I sit down to write this. Despite being exhausted, I feel the need to put a few thoughts on the Blog before I fall asleep and lose them. (However, truthfully, I think it's highly unlikely I'll ever forget tonight.)
I have returned from hearing President-Elect Obama address Grant Park, Chicago, the United States, and the World, as the newly elected 44th President of the United States. I, along with my father, and hundreds of thousands of others, poured into the city this evening to witness history. It was truly incredible.
This will likely be one of those events in my life that I will tell my own grandchildren about some day, and for that reason it was really special to experience it with my father. I'm so glad he happened to be passing through Chicago this week, and chose to stay for a couple of days. We had a great time.
There are several photographs that we think about which capture important moments in history. An example is the photo I have posted here, of the sailor kissing a girl on the streets of New York in celebration of our WWII victory over Japan. I have, burned in my brain, a similarly spontaneous moment from tonight. As Dad and I made it through several security-checkpoints on our way into the park, we could hear the noise of the crowd assembled in Grant Park increasing in volume. And we could hear the CNN audio feed updating the status of the election. At just about 10 PM we cleared the final check-point and were within about 100 yards of the crowd in the park. CNN announced Obama as the winner, and an enormous roar came up from the masses. Many people around us, who were just coming into the park with us, began to run down the relatively empty street to the permimiter of the crowd. For some reason, my eyes turned to an African-American Policeman from the Chicago Police Department, who was standing in an intersection. I happened to be looking at him at what must have been the moment he realized that the first African American citizen of our country had been elected. His entire body lifted from the ground as he lept into the air. And as his feet came back down to Earth, he looked at me ... jogged toward me ... and we gave one another a big "high five." I'm never going to forget that moment. The mental image of him leaping in the air is - for me - an image equally as powerful as the WWII image.
As lound, boystrous, and excited as the crowd was, I was taken by how quiet we all were at key moments in Obama's speech tonight. Those in attendance were respectful, joyful, and tearful all at the same time. From my position on a small hill, overlooking a sea of humanity, I saw a true American "melting pot" of ethnicity. It really was overwhelming. And summarized in the very opening statement of his speech:
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
Finally, I will say that I loved the fact that he emphasized that this is not an "end," but yet a chance to make the change that so many of us seek in America:
"What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you."
And his closing:
"For that is the true genius of America -- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."
