Witnessing History

One man come in the name of love....
One man come and go.....
One man come to justify.....
One man to overthrow....

These words echoed and rocked out Washington, DC one clear day on January 18, 2009. The day before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Day, hundreds of thousands gathered in the bitter cold to witness something we never thought we would see in our lifetime. On the same steps that Dr. King and inspired us with his "I have a dream" speech 46 years earlier, we watched as another man, half-black, half-white, take the stage to soon become President. We watched world famous superstars share that stage, not to take the spotlight, but to honor two men. One would soon be swore-in to become President of the United States. The other, killed 40 years prior, stood as a global symbol of hope that changed the world forever.

Excerpt from MLK's "I have a dream" speech
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

I can only imagine what it must have felt like to have been on those steps 46 years prior....our nation caught in a brutal war in which thousands were dying, men and women separated from eating together because of the color of their skin, and a revolution of anger and frustration boiling over. What must have it been like to hear a message that one day we would not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. To us today, it seems incredulous. But it was just one generation previous. And to see that we have come so far in just one generation.

As Bono sang...its not just an American Dream anymore...its an Irish Dream, an African Dream, a Palestinian dream, a Sri Lankan Dream. A dream to live peacefully and co-exist. To not fight because of one's ethnic background or religion or beliefs. To be treated equally. And to see this dream realized this past weekend...well it was surreal. To be a part of such history. It was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen or felt. The energy of the people. The unbelievable shock that this was actually happening. It wasn't a dream anymore. It was reality. We weren't fighting prejudice or hatred anymore. We had made it.

Yes we did. That was the sentiment of the day. And let me tell you....what a feeling it was. The air was charged. People were charged. Hugging, dancing, singing along to stars such as Bono, Beyoncee, Garth Brooks, Shakira, Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder...the list went on and on. But the audience wasn't there for the performers. They had come from around the country to witness history and see Barack Obama inaugurated.

Its not about Obama-mania. Its about hope. Its about believing in our country. Its about inspiration. Its about change. Its about time.