Sunday, January 25, 2009

Waltz with Bashir

I'm too old to have been caught up in the recent phenomenon of graphic novels. I read about their popularity and the serious subjects they dealt with, the critical discussions they generated. Its just not a form I was familiar enough to turn to when looking for reading material. I guess Persepolis changed this a little bit but not really. Graphic novels and animation were still Spiderman and Bugs Bunny. The movie I saw yesterday has rather brutally brought me up to date. The animated feature Waltz with Bashir about a soldier's search for his memory is a tour de force of storytelling and art. I won't try to summarize it, just highly recommend it.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Finally....

I rose early for a day off: 5:00 AM. I walked over to Annie's to get a cup of coffee and it was crowded. Not with the denizens of our many gay bars but sober people, bundled for cold and excited to get going. I went back home changed into my LL Bean long underwear (purchased specifically for this day) and headed out. How was I going to cross the parade route to get to my entrance on the other side of the Mall? I took a cab around behind the Supreme Court Building and the driver dropped me by the Capitol South Metro stop. The crowds were already immense and overwhelming but I slowly made my way to a spot above the 3rd street tunnel. There was a line of people going into the tunnel and we yelled down, "What ticket line are you?" and they yelled back "Purple"(a very exclusive ticket). We would find out later that these poor souls would never get to see the Inauguration from their privileged perch. They had been told to stand in line but it was a line to nowhere and no one came to let them in. I had a silver ticket (much less exclusive) and after standing in a cold breeze, cheek to cheek with hundreds of others, I entered the Mall. The crowd size was like nothing Washington has ever seen since I've lived here (20 years). Crowd estimates are a little parlor game here but it was the biggest I've ever seen and I've been here for many 4th of Julys and protests. Everyone seemed to be from out of town. They simply HAD to be here for this great event. I live a dozen blocks from where I was standing but I had to be here too. When Obama's face first appeared on the Jumbotron, people cheered like crazy. It was going to happen and shortly. The crowd was fairly respectful towards Bush and Cheney considering what they were leaving behind and what they had done to our country. The music was beautiful. The biggest laugh was when the announcement was made to "please be seated". The million plus crowd who had been standing there for hours and hours, let out a collective laugh. After the Oath, euphoria. I'm usually not a fan of crowds but it was a celebration of what we can do, how far we've come and a commitment to move forward and to preserve American ideals. We can choose courage rather than fear. The financial crisis has the potential to tear at the fabric of our society (I've got mine, f*** you buddy!!) but I'm hopeful we're better than that and this man will lead us in a better direction. This man is just a man, he's not a savior. We have no right to put that on him. If he fails or stumbles, we've failed or stumbled. We lost our way for a minute. We were in a dark place, we can't go back there. I think in the years ahead we'll shake our heads in disbelief that our government was torturing people and that we cared so little that we elected leaders that violated their oath to "protect and defend the Constitution". Its over for the moment but we have an obligation to be vigilant in holding our elected officials accountable. We were sleeping on Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Addington and Gonzalez and "Brownie" and Rove. They took advantage of our consumption driven lethargy and our post 9-11 fear. America has a knack for getting serious when it needs to and electing great leaders: Lincoln, FDR, and .... I know, I know, thats too much to put on him. It was a beautiful day.