This morning, as I got up and put on Inauguration coverage on the TV, for some reason Jesus Jones’ “Right Here Right Now” popped in my head. I get chills every time I hear that song, for it was written by the band after they watched the exact same event I did on the national news. We watched in awe the Berlin Wall fall. 

 

For our generation, that was our moon landing. Sure I was alive for the actual moon landing, but in my infant state I didn’t remember any of it.  Growing up I vaguely remembered hearing things on the TV while my parents watched like Nixon resigning and Gerald Ford being sworn in, the Iran Hostage crisis, and the entire Reagan presidency. It was all a blur. As most other young people, I grew up complacent about politics. I didn’t care, nor believed I could make a difference.

 

Communism was always prevalent in my life and I accepted it to be something that existed. Unlike the generations before me, I didn’t think communists were evil. It was just their thing, and they weren’t going anywhere. So, as I watched on that day in November 1989 I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Something revolutionary was happening in the world and it was a good thing. A regime was changing, and people were hopeful.  I saw the jubilant German people standing on the wall, tearing down pieces of concrete and cheering, and I couldn’t help but get weepy.  I didn’t know how much this meant to them until then. I didn’t realize the scars that existed. Watching something inspirational is best seen through other people's eyes.  Otherwise, you don't get the whole story.  That day, I got it. 

 

Since then I drifted back into my complacency. Sure the world has changed, but I don’t remember a moment captivating me quite so much. By captivating I mean delivering hope. Sure, I watched non-stop horrific coverage for weeks after September 11^th, but that didn’t inspire me like the images I saw this morning. The long aerial shots of the entire Washington mall packed full with citizens from all walks of life, all in a celebratory and hopeful mood, waving their flags with pride.  People were energized and for once excited about what’s happening next. A city and a country that for so long has felt dead today is alive with hope. I haven’t felt this way since the Berlin Wall fell. 

My kids on a day off from school got to watch the Inauguration with me.  My seven year old son took huge interest in the election, even taking pride in his mock classroom election by voting for Barack Obama in a class full of John McCain supporters.  There was quite of bit of political posturing going on in that first grade classroom and I scratched my head, trying like mad to picture when I was in school when we ever talked about an election, let alone had a mock vote.  I realized I never did.  

My son sat in my lap with eyes glued to the TV, actually crying when Joe Biden and Barack Obama were sworn in.  It became clear to me this was his moon landing.  To see this sweeping change, to see this much hope happen with a child so young, I choked up a bit myself.  Far more than Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream came true today.  Seven year olds everywhere are dreaming of their great futures as well.   

 

“Right here right now, there is no place that I want to be. Right here right now, watching the world wake up from history.”  Thanks Jesus Jones, I couldn't have said it better.