After hours of standing in the cold among thousands of people, the blue ticket crowd begins to get frustrated. As the clock ticks closer to 11:30 a.m. and the beginning of the Inauguration swearing-in ceremony, the crowd begins to chant: “Let Us In. Yes, You Can. Let Us In.” The disappointment and desperation mount as people realize that they probably aren’t getting pass the security screening point. See for yourself below.
Obama Inauguration 2009
Cynical, and a Little Jealous: England on Inauguration day
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Amid the rampant Obama-mania in the U.S., hearing opinions from across seas, from a cul-de-sac deep in the heart of rural England, can be endlessly refreshing.
“Did you watch the inauguration?”
“Inaugur-what?”
“The swearing-in of America’s new president, Barack Obama.”
“No. For a start, this is England. Who cares who America’s new President is? Anyone is going to be better than Bush.”
As far as some of my British friends are concerned, the mere fact that this new guy “isn’t Bush” is cause for celebration. Expectations are low in the pessimistic isle, because low expectations are more likely to be met. And according to the British public (at least, as far as I can infer) it’s not a good idea to set the bar too high for America, despite their seemingly sane choice for a new president.
Even those who aren’t particularly interested in American politics have adopted the opinion that President Bush’s eight years were a disaster, that he trashed America’s reputation (or, at least, fulfilled all the negative stereotypes that have been bred across seas) and was generally just a “retarded cowboy” (to quote British comedian Russell Brand, who has become a disturbingly influential force in the homeland.)
Anti-American sentiment in the U.K. has significantly grown during Bush’s presidency, roaring into mainstream culture at about the same time the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was released (July 2004) before quieting to an apathetic lull in the past few years. News became opinion, opinion became gossip, gossip became stereotype, and suddenly everyone thought that “bad president” and “George Bush” went together like tea and biscuits. No argument. Everyone was willing to take part in the Bush-bashing party. Yet ask the average man-on-the-street (outside of London) to name three things that President Bush did during his presidency, good or bad, and you might find that popular opinion deflates like a balloon. The British, as Polly Toynbee from The Guardian explains, are “lazily cynical.” Rather than rejoice, they prefer to believe that “political passion is unfashionable, risky, naive, and destined for disappointment.”
Despite Toynbee’s declaration that Jan. 20 was accompanied by a world-wide “tidal wave of optimism”, reactions to the inauguration (for those I know who watched it in the UK) were pretty tame compared to election night. It was a very polite historical event, and Britain already has its fair share of those (Victory in England day, the Queen’s Speech, the Royal Variety Show… it can seem like one a week sometimes.) As is the case with such events, TV sets were tuned to BBC news and left on, buzzing in the background all day, keeping audiences plugged into what they kept being told was “an important day in history.”
Unlike election night, when that “tidal wave of optimism” was thick and clear around the world, inauguration day in Britain seems to have better suited the image of an ominously still lake. There was a “wait and see” attitude toward the celebrations. “I’ve got a bad feeling about today,” commented one Guardian reader. “Prepare for the worst,” wrote another. “Cynicism isn’t lazy,” explained a third. “It may be wrong but it isn’t lazy. Cynicism is bred of long despairing and we have been long despairing.”
The fears bubbled and frothed. Where is the story going to lead, working backwards from this happy ending? Are the troops really going to come back from Iraq now? Is the American government going to aid its poor, hungry, jobless, huddled masses yearning to breathe free? What’s going to be the new definition for that controversial word, “Israel”? There are too many questions for this new President to answer, and the cynics are waiting with abated breath for the storm to come. “As a purely historical observation,” wrote another Guardian commenter, “America doesn’t do “good” presidents or charismatic black leaders… at least, not for long.”
But having low-expectations (or even extremely morbid expectations) may simply be a sign of Britain’s own esteem issues. This is a country without cheerleaders, root beer, or Las Vegas. This is a country that ceded its power after centuries of global dominance only to watch America become master in a fraction of the time. It’s no wonder that the U.K. ranks 26th in a global study of self-esteem, a full 20 places behind the U.S. As British journalist Mark Austin bluntly puts it, “Barack Obama makes me jealous.”
Cynical. Optimistic. Jealous. Thankful. Scared. Happy. Historical events always spark a mish-mash of emotion. But there are only two words that will define the next 100 days… “We’ll see.”
Redefining “American”
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Traveling out of DC on the morning after the Inauguration was actually more difficult than getting in. As we waited thirty minutes to get a free cab, I noticed this sign in the trash. Apparently even the anarchists are excited about President Obama! I had a long cab ride in traffic to BWI while poor Jared had to endure a charter bus ride from hell to get a good airfare out of Philly.
On my flight to Houston I sat next to an African American woman who let me borrow her newspaper so I could read the full text of Obama’s speech. I’d missed a lot of it during the ceremony because the sound system didn’t quite reach where we were standing. After reading it, I broke into tears, my first emotional moment of the whole trip.
I was firstly just so grateful that we had chosen a leader who is intelligent and speaks in complete, coherent sentences. Second, I share more values with the President than not—a first for me when it comes to political figures. Third, the country is facing arguably the greatest challenges we have ever confronted, but I sense more optimism and can-do-it-ness in rising to the challenge, than cynicism or apathy than ever before. And lastly, I was proud of America for doing the right thing—for electing the better man, and for overcoming racial bias to do so.
As I handed the paper back to my seat mate with tears rolling down my face I said, “I am so grateful.” She said to me, “I’m so glad to be sitting next to you, honey. God bless you.” There was so much more communicated in that moment than what we said to each other—and I’m not sure I can find the words to describe it exactly. But we found ourselves on the same side, beyond the divides that would have previously kept us from connecting. We transcended something so ubiquitous and tacit that we don’t even have a word for it. Its one of those things that only becomes noticeable when you suddenly sense its absence.
As she continued to read the paper, she showed me a story about Angola Prison where the inmates had been allowed to watch the inaugural ceremony on TV. The picture showed a man who has been in prison since 1957, doing a life sentence for two murders. She reminded me that according to the US Department of Justice, 32% of black men will enter prison during their lifetime, as opposed to seventeen percent of Hispanic males and six percent of white males. Yeah, there’s that, I thought. How are we going to change that one? But what I said out loud was, “You know, I think that is going to change too.”
What happened next during my four-hour layover in Houston reinforced that nascent hope, when I struck up a conversation with a young African American man behind the cash register at a Mexican restaurant. At first I picked up on his energy of subtle hostility, but when I made a comment about Obama’s busy first day he broke out a huge smile and started talking to me like I was one of his homies instead of some white lady buying a taco. “My man ain’t wastin’ no time,” he said. “He got up and said, ‘We gonna get down to business, we got some work to do. We gonna make some changes today.’”
It was so awesome, he and I were suddenly “us” instead of “them.” Then he said something that blew me away. He said “Today I’m an American. I ain’t African American no more. Today, I’m an American.” “Right on, my brother,” I said and gave him a high five.
I think this might be the first evidence that a tectonic shift in race relations is taking place. And what is happening is redefining what it means to be American. I think we are going to see some amazing things on a human-to-human level, as long as we stay open and reach beyond our old ethnocentric divides to connect with others. Do the experiment for yourself and see what happens when you tell an African American stranger on the street how happy you are that Barack Obama is our new President.
Inauguration Day: The L.A. Way
Friday, January 23rd, 2009There were those of us who flew to D.C. to freeze outside and soak up the sardine scene at the real-deal inaugural ceremony on Tuesday, and then there were folks like me—who kept it local, watched history happen on TV, and raided our closets later that night in search for the perfect pair of pumps to slap on for the West Coast “Art of Change” Inaugural Ball at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles.
Truth: I don’t care what went down in D.C. because we had some damn good times here in L.A. Let me explain.
All sorts of folks made it to the Mayan on Tuesday night: angels, devils, young, old, the bold and bedazzled, the mamas and the papas, the prepsters, the groupies, the stilt-walkers, the smooth talkers, and even a suited-up schmuck here and there. Anything and everything moved and mingled throughout the venue. We were a happy hodgepodge of mixed nuts.
“This is what liberation feels like, yeah?” screamed some dude into a microphone. And so, the night began.
The lights went down as the face of our new President took center stage on three big screens throughout the room. Most of us heard Obama talk the talk earlier in the day, but we couldn’t get enough of it. The room fell silent as we listened to his speech all over again. His words made sense of our madness—and we were hooked.
D.J. Motion Potion then pumped out the jams and infused bits of the speech into the mix. The crowd kept pace and let the new president take the lead. Words of hope and change punctuated every beat and we danced it up. We twirled and dipped. The clench of these past eight years—we let it rip. We let it all loose. Free at last. That’s what we were.
“What a great turn for our country!” exclaimed Gabriel Avenna, a high school teacher who had kickass $20 t-shirts on sale. The tees read: “From abomination to Obama-nation.” Avenna said he didn’t create the shirts with a profit in mind. He just wanted to raise awareness. “We’re finally going to regain the respect we lost over the last eight years,” he gushed.
Kathy Leonardo, a singer/songwriter decked out in a patriotic fairy getup, shared the same sentiment. “I’m so excited that suddenly Americans have opened their eyes,” she said with a grin. “And I love the fact that this is happening at night, so I can go out and party!”
Kathy Leonardo
The crowd kept dancing as the “visual symphony” took command of the floor. The music got faster and the beat bumped louder as a whirlwind of visuals flashed on and off the screens. All the images were made in the U.S. of A. They made me want to pat myself on the back—just for being an American. For voting for Obama. And for adding a new achievement to this country’s rich history.
And then—shh!—The Mutaytor.
The Mutaytor
If you haven’t seen this cirque-du-so-whoa! rock group, you need to. From the antics of the hoola-hoop contortionist to the sheet-climbing ballerina to the upside-down, fire-whirling, baton twirlers, this alterna-grunge troupe does it all. They jam, they dance, they strip a little here, then bump and grind over there. It’s talent in the raw, cool raunch all the way.
So what does The Mutaytor have to do with Obama?
“It’s art for the sake of art,” said Commander Dazzle, a Mutaytor groupie. “We’re coming out tonight because we’re inspired. Barack Obama is all about hope and what America stands for—freedom. Being cool to each other. That’s what we’re all about. That’s what this entire scene is about.”
Commander Dazzle
As I meandered out of the Mayan, I realized that Commander Dazzle had her finger on the pulse of the evening. The people I partied with were from all walks of life. I even shared a laugh with a 65-year-old robot maker who had no idea what he was getting himself into when he decided to attend the ball that night. But in the end, he was “very pleased” about partaking in the fun.
Bill Schonlau
We’ve spent so much time, money, and life on being at war with the world, each other, and our leaders, it’s about time we stop dropping bombs, reclaim our integrity, and foster an environment where the countries around the globe are just “cool to each other.” The allies, the enemies, the young countries, the old ones, the bold and bedazzled, the unstable stilt-walkers—again, why can’t we all just be “cool”? And Barack this party.
Naysayers, go ahead. Call me naive. But hey—take a look at us in L.A.
The world clearly has some catching up to do.
Inauguration Day: Yes, The Crowds Were Singing
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009If you’ve been following my story, you know that I was one of the blue ticket holders that did not reach the goal line. (Meaning, I didn’t get past security for the Inauguration Swearing-In Ceremony.) However, I’ve got some great footage of the spirit of the moment. Although the blue group (as I like to call them) was smashed together like sardines in the freezing cold (about 25 or 30 degrees), we were all pretty happy to be there. People started singing songs like “America the Beautiful.” Check out the video below to get a view of what it was like in the “blue crowd.” (Be sure to notice how the line (read: mass of people) doesn’t move forward.)