catapult magazine

I just got back from the Obama rally and though Barack Obama did not play up the race angle of his victory, I must tell you that I was standing next to an African-American man about my own age who couldn’t hold back the tears when he saw Obama and his family take the stage. This guy clearly was still in shock that he now lives in a country that elected a black president. I saw perfect strangers hugging each other and high-fiving when Obama was projected the next president of the United States. I saw teenagers taking pictures of the huge crowds, clearly excited about being part of the political process. The feeling of expectation and hope was so strong and extended so far beyond the large crowd gathered in Chicago that I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how it came to be that I was here at this moment, one of the best moments in my experience of America.

It looked amazing on television. We were with a group of people in Grand Rapids and there was a sense of genuine excitement there.

My favorite moment, though, was when a Peruvian friend congratulated us on having elected “a very good President.” That really means a lot …

We were watching CNN on a BIG screen and it was so strange to see images of people in Kenya, the UK and Australia watching us in Grant Park, celebrating with us. I mean, the helicopter was hovering over our heads and the image of us, this gigantic crowd was being beamed all over the world. I couldn’t even see the stage where Obama spoke from my vantage point, but I felt like we were all on the stage, that we were the ones being celebrated. Alot of the Americanisms of democracy, liberty, popular sovereignty, beacon of light, city on a hill etc. that have worn so thin for me have been given a new meaning.

Say more, if you could, about how those “Americanisms” you listed at the end have been given new meaning. I’ve been trying to parse through my ideas about these as well …