Crowds and Tears
At about 5 am this morning, after staying up all night here in Scandinavia flipping between CNN and BBC, watching for updates on my country’s presidential election, Barack Obama’s electoral votes finally pushed past 270. I called my best friend and cried in the glow of the television. And as I cried I watched other people on the screen cry.
I remember being very upset one night about 15 years ago. I was upset because my alma mater’s basketball team won some kind of championship, and hundreds of people crowded onto a popular street near the university. I could hear the screams and yells and all out jubilation from my house at least a mile away. I remember thinking that a great human achievement, like a discovery for cancer or hiv/aids cure, would not draw the same reaction.
Last night proved me wrong. Yesterday’s election was a great human achievement, a discovery and perhaps even a cure. And people poured into the streets of cities and towns all over the world just like years ago I imagined they wouldn’t. I stand corrected and humbled.
Beyond hope, the idea of a President Obama appeals to the common good, courage and thoughtfulness of Americans. This idea will become a reality if we expect as much from ourselves as we do him. I say this more as a reminder to myself than anything else.
I usually avoid crowds, but the sound of yells and fireworks on the line back home with my friend combined with the pictures of Chicago on TV had a particular gravity. In the wee dark morning hours of a far away place, wrapped in a blanket and temporarily grounded by pneumonia, I wanted nothing more than to wander into the street and find people so I could mix my tears with theirs.
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