Say Amen

How often do you get to witness anything that is real history, that will be in the books that school children study? If you are almost 65 you have experienced some world history already.  Do you remember the election of JFK and his beautiful wife, Jackie? Do you remember 1963 and John Kennedy's assassination?  Do you remember the Viet Nam war?  Do you remember 1968 and the assassinations of both Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King? The moon landing? I remember all of those days and times--each of them spent in front of a television set, following the events with my eyes and ears and my heart.  Hope, exhilaration and then broken hearted, angry, dreams dashed, the beginning of cynicism, riots, marches.

I  remembered all those days and feelings as I sat transfixed in front of our big modern flat screen, savoring the images of the huge crowds in the Capitol, the millions of faces of every conceivable color together in joy, the radiance of those faces, the tears, the dancing, the laughter, the celebration.  I could not look away.  I kept being drawn back to the realization that it was history, that it was the fulfillment of so many of our dreams, that it was nearly miraculous, that it was really happening, right there, in front of all of us, finally.  The cynicism that had grown worse over the years washed away by this calm presence, this intelligent force, this promise.

All day I relished the network pundits words about "the first time", the young family, the momentous occasion.  I watched as the famous politicians arrived, the former vice presidents, then the former presidents and the first lady and the first lady-to-be and then, what we all had been waiting for, the President and the President Elect.  I wanted to cheer, all by myself here in my home, but instead I starting crying and a big lump formed in my throat.  How could this possibly be happening, after all those months of giving out buttons and sending money and telling people what Obama stood for--after all those months of hope--after all the debates and the polls?  Even though the convention had happened the votes were counted and Obama had won, it was still not a fact in my mind.  I could say the words out loud, "Barack Obama is going to be President", but the thought of it was so unbelievable that until he was sworn in and until he gave his speech and until he began to take charge, first at the lunch and then later at the parade, I still could not quite believe it was happening.  I kept having to remind myself it was real.  From the looks of the faces right there in Washington D.C., right there where they could see it taking place, I could tell I wasn't alone.  We were all pinching ourselves and may still be trying to wrap our minds around the fact.  When I hear Obama on the news now I run into the room to hang on every word, to savor those moments which as they become more and more familiar may convince me that we are here, that we have gotten to this new place, that we have all "reached the mountaintop".

I loved the reverend who gave the benediction after the inauguration--he spoke of the "yellow being mellow and the white doing what is right" and then he ended his words with "Say Amen, say amen, say amen!"  SAY AMEN!  I don't pray per se, but in my way I am praying hard now that nothing happens to mess up this moment in history.  I may have lost some of the cynicism but I haven't lost the fear of something good being taken away.  It's happened too many times. Say amen with me--say amen to hoping for the best--expecting success instead of waiting for failure.  Say amen to reenergizing the county, to remaking our image in the world, for getting things done.  Say amen, say amen, say amen!  Stand behind this striving young man of ideals and his family as their lives change and they try to change ours for the better.  Say Amen!

I shall try my damnedest to forget 1968 and put that bloody time behind me for once and for all.  I shall try to nourish hope again and be positive about the future.  I shall not expect more than is possible, but I will not accept less than I know we can do.  Look forward with me and say Amen!