This land was made for you and me
By Roger Ebert on November 4, 2008 8:47 PM
As the mighty tide swept the land on Tuesday night, I was transfixed.
As the pundits pondered red states and blue states, projections and exit polls, I was swept with emotion. Not because America was "electing its first Black president." That comes a little late in the day. It was because America was electing the right President...
I stayed up late. As I watched, I remembered. In 1968 I was in the streets as a reporter, when the Battle of Grant Park ended eight years of Democratic presidents and opened an era when the Republicans would control the White House for 28 of the next 40 years. "The whole world is watching!" the demonstrators cried, as the image of Chicago was tarnished around the world. On Tuesday night, the world again had
its eyes on Grant Park. I saw tens and tens of thousands of citizens with their hearts full, smiling through their tears. As at all of Obama's rallies, our races stood proudly side by side, as it should be. We are finally, finally, beginning to close that terrible chapter of American history.
America was a different place when I grew up under Truman, Eisenhower and, yes, even Nixon. On Tuesday that America remembered itself, and stood up to be counted.
This land is your land,
This land is our land,
From California, to the New York island.
From the redwood forests, to the Gulf Stream waters--
This land was made for you and me
5 comments:
I can tell by the things that you are sharing that you have been very personally moved by this election in a positive way. I (on the other hand) am standing by and watching. Not being caught up in the positive wave. Nothing negative. Simply taking note. Hopeful, but mostly watchful.
There is still caution in my hopefulness, Mary, though I am touched by some recent events, especially the tone of Obama's acceptance speech - McCain's concession too. There are such serious rolems -I just keep hoping we will take them seriously as a people and take effective actions.
Without a TV or newspaper this was the first year we were not witness to whatever went on in the pre-election months. Instead, when our absentee ballots arrived, I went to several world hunger sites, read both the candidates' voting records and was completely swayed by Obama's historic voting in favor of the desperately poor, both at home and overseas.
A quite peaceful and unemotional election experience, for a change!
I liked this piece that you posted and was also moved in a positive way by the spirit I have seen come forward in this election--it has been a long long time. But there is caution in my watching and waiting as well. God bless us all.
I loved this piece by Roger Ebert that you shared, Victoria. I am proud of our country that Barack Obama was elected to be our president. I think he is a good and intelligent man with vision who will do the right thing to make us the country we want to be, moral, humanistic, serving all people and not just the few.
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