By Sam Wineka
For the Salisbury Post
WASHINGTON, D.C. ó We’d been hearing about them for months now.
D.C. residents had been warned about the millions of people coming to witness Barack Obama’s inauguration. The underground Metro subway would be running extra trains; bridges from Virginia into the district would be closed except to buses; and we could all make great money if we rented out our apartments.
I don’t know anybody who actually did.
We stayed. We wanted to see, too.
The city played out like a movie throughout the weekend, this perhaps spurred by the numerous celebrities at the Inaugural Concert on Sunday. The crowds there were huge, but were only a practice run.
Obama fit in with the celebrities at the concert, drawing the most applause. The crowd went wildest for any camera shot of him nodding his head in time with the music.
On Monday the streets were filled with people who had nothing to do other than be in the city where a new president was being inaugurated, taking it all in.
Waiting for friends outside Union Station early ó very early ó Tuesday morning, I happened to glance at a monument dedicated to an Italian.
“To the memory of Christopher Columbus, whose high faith and indomitable courage gave to mankind a new world.”
This simple sentence put in perspective the reason for all the commotion of the day. Even before there was “America,” there were Americans.
Wherever we come from, whatever our background, we all believe in those certain inalienable rights. With determination and bravery, we can accomplish our goals.
In the morning darkness, streets were filled with pedestrians being shepherded by a vastly increased police presence. After waiting hours in the bitter, windy cold, not one person in the line to the National Mall wore a frown.
Funneled into a human traffic jam, the crowd never wavered from its cheery demeanor. Strangers sang “Lean on Me” at full volume and held each other up if anyone tripped. A woman asked me if she could use my shoulder to help her over a barrier.
I helped her friends, too.
United by the historic day, drunk on values and brotherhood, an exceptionally diverse crowd put aside the economy, the war and their lives to celebrate the American dream. We live in a place where schoolchildren are taught they can grow up to be anything they want. For many in the crowd, this day proved that.
We had arrived before 7 a.m., and after passing through security and past guards at five other checkpoints over nine blocks, it was 9:30 a.m. and our position was at least half a mile from the Capitol, somewhere between it and the Washington Monument. But unlike any concert or athletic event I had experienced before, there was no rush to push forward for primo seats.
The content feeling that seemed to permeate the crowd will stay with me forever. We are all here. We all made it. A friend who had underdressed was in pain from freezing toes, and a stranger offered her hand warmers.
Obama’s inauguration came at a time when many in America fear the worst. Layoffs, foreclosures and bailouts are common headlines. The stock market has become important to folks who might have just not bothered paying attention. At such a crucial time, in his first speech as president, Obama reiterated to the throngs those things that the country was built on, the things that made it great.
“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation,” he said, “we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted ó for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things ó some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor ó who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.”
Many have used these values in speeches before, many of them presidents. Did Obama mean it more when he said it? Perhaps not, but did it mean more to the people who were listening? Most definitely.
This day proved that the words “all men are created equal” are true, both to some who might have felt they weren’t and also to some who might have denied they were. Obama has been an advocate for change, and regardless of opinions on the past eight years, a dramatic change came to pass Tuesday.
The majority of the crowd dispersed after Obama’s speech, not staying for the following poetry reading. Many watched the parade, but the main show was over, and it really happened. No longer just a celebrity, the man who has promised to lead the country to a new world must now do that job.
The crowds attempting to leave the National Mall were stifling. Most had arrived at different times throughout the morning and now were leaving at the same time.
“Can we even make it out of here?” a friend asked.
We can.