“We are always Americans first”
Tonight my daughter asked me why I wasn’t on the moon. I tried to explain my frustration at the grandstanding that had gone on in advance of his speech, not to mention the fates colliding to make sure I couldn’t give it my full attention, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was until I saw this video.
As the daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter of a South Dakota pioneer family, seeing the image of Obama standing at Mount Rushmore at night was a profoundly moving sight. Even more moving? The expressions of absolute joy and yes, hope on the people in Minneapolis tonight. I felt as though I was robbed of the actual moment in some ways, but the images in this video reminded me of what makes me believe in this man, and in the faith of the people who came out and endorsed him today, and the state of Montana, who was the last to vote and gave him a wider victory.
I realized that I didn’t want to think about who would be his vice president, or how he would deal with McCain’s snark, or whether his supporters or her supporters would continue to be divisive.
What I wanted for this night, was to enjoy the moment, the snippet of history, the memory of the scent of possibility. To experience the impact of history being made, not just by Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, but by this entire country, where millions and millions of people went to the polls, made phone calls, donated what they could, wrote friends, wrote blogs, built communities around the web, on Twitter and Friendfeed and even “Plurk”, the latest place, and started to believe in the idea that things can change. Wars can end, and yes, politics of hope can prevail over politics as usual. I wanted, for this night, to shed division and remember that in the end, we are always Americans first. It took me awhile to let that wash over me, but it finally has.