The Reinvention of America

With this being my first post in my blog, I decided to use the forum to discuss my observations of the crowd’s behavior and composition during the Inauguration festivities on Tuesday morning. After attending the event, and seeing some of the coverage on the major networks that preceded the ceremony, I feel confident in my ability to characterize the patrons into a few different general categories.

One of the most analyzed aspects of this event in the weeks leading up to the ceremony was the great diversity, both in age and race, that was going to be found in the crowds because of the election of President Obama. With a campaign based on change for all, it was easy to understand why so many different groups would feel an affinity to his bravado and his campaign. However, that was never more evident until yesterday. Any analyst with a rudimentary understanding of the current American position would comprehend the significance of the great turnout by the African-American community. At a superficial level, it could be easy to claim that this increased turnout was solely because of the color of President Obama, which makes a presumption that African-Americans only voted for him because he is “one of their own.” However, I find this pretense to be unfair to the African-American community, which was feeling a great distrust towards government after the last eight years, regardless of how fair that may be. After the catastrophic event of Hurricane Katrina, and the efforts that ensued in the New Orleans community, many members of the African-American community were left feeling that they were “separate but equal” Americans. With the campaign of Mr. Obama, it became easy for the community to associate with him because of his background in community work in urban Chicago neighborhoods. There was a revitalization of belief that someone with an understanding of the plights of the urban communities would be legitimately concerned with fixing the wrongs that burdened so many. Hence, the turnout for the inauguration among African-Americans was not only large, but it was also monumental in size and historical significance.

A second significant demographic that changed during this specific Inauguration was the ages of the attendees. Unlike past elections, this one had a significant following among the youth voters, with an accurate microcosm of the nation seen on the GW campus throughout the Fall semester. This significant change is quite similar to the one that was seen in the change in the prior example with the mindset being the important reason for the great differentiating factor among past elections. It is of no small importance that President Obama is a youthful 47 years old, which differed from presidents of the past, including the notorious example of Ronald Reagan, who didn’t assume the office until he was in his 80’s. While the young generations of the past felt a cultural disconnect because the two groups were of almost two completely different generations, President Obama, with two young children, found it easier to connect with the youth of today’s generation. For example, his employment of the internet, considered a significant reason for his success of being elected to President, is a relatively recent phenomenon that is most associated with the younger generations of today. For all of these reasons and more, the representation of the younger generation was never more evident than it was yesterday. There was a sense of a renewal of spirit among this demographic with a tangible concern for domestic and international politics that probably hasn’t been seen before. With children of every age at the ceremony, along with thousands of college students from not only the DC metropolitan area, but other universities across the nation, it was evident that yesterday’s event was one of historical proportions that may never be witnessed again.

The final aspect of the crowd that I observed that was different from past similar celebrations was the behavior among the patrons of the crowd. With a great mix of citizens attending the celebration, with all different races, ages, and economic backgrounds being represented, it would not have been surprising to find some differences in the air among the different groups. However, this pretense couldn’t have been further from the truth. With it starting at the concert on Sunday, and the feelings carrying over to yesterday, there were genuine feelings of care and brotherhood among the witnesses. What I can only attribute to the sense of national pride and success being first and foremost on the minds of everyone in attendance, there was communication between all of the parties on the mall, with genuine interest in the backgrounds of the different patrons. People were willingly taking pictures of complete strangers, helping them to capture this moment in history. Finally, there was jubilation among all through songs and prayers that united the people on a level deeper than any superficial level, such as wealth or race. Yesterday, there was no differentiation, only equality for all. On Tuesday, we were Americans first.

What I saw today along the National Mall was a piece of history that I feel privileged to have witnessed firsthand. Whether or not success is seen in America because of the practices by President Obama remains to be seen. However, what was evident today was that pride in nation is stronger than anything else that can be formed in our lifetimes. What was seen seven years ago on September 11th, 2001, was rekindled today, which was a spirit of optimism and hopefulness that we can overcome anything that is presented in our way. As Americans, we believe that no outside agent has the potential to bring down what has been formed over the last 250 years. Yes, I believe that all of this was seen today through the representation of the crowd of the Inauguration. Whether or not this ideal holds true remains to be seen. Only time will tell.