Pugs, people and politics
On July 20, 1969 Commander Neil Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin Aldrin successfully touched down on the lunar surface. As Armstrong became the first person to touch the Moon’s surface, he spoke the unforgettable phrase, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind”
I was just a little man on the eve of that historical moment. My parents allowed my sister and I to stay up late and watch the world changing event on a 12 inch dog eared black and white television. Though too young to fully understand the significance of that evening’s event, I have deep memories of how I felt after that historic event. The next day at school was like the day before Christmas. People were just unexplainably happy and positive. Little did I know that things in my young life dad changed. And, change is good. Hard to fathom now, some 39 years or so plus what has happened in our lives let alone our country. We put a man on the moon and now have put an African American in the White House. Good stuff.
Last night another pioneer walked on sacred ground. Though on our turf, the message today in the spirit of humanity was loud and clear. We as a nation just took a big step. From the Latin girl at my local Seven Eleven to the guy in the toll booth, today it was clearly a new America today. Forget the political issues. Forget the color difference between black and white and red or blue. Regardless of how we voted, the dream, the American one has been resurrected and it’s hardly deniable.
My sister, who oddly enough was a teen sitting next to me on our beat up couch watching Neil do his thing sent me an email this morning recounting her memories of a little lady. While memories of 1969 were lunar related for me, hers were much deeper rooted in politics. She said that she remembered vividly sitting on the couch watching the 1969 Democratic National Convention on the same black and white television that I had when the Chicago police were hosing down African Americans with fire hoses and beating people senseless with riot sticks in the same park of Grant, Chicago were last night our new leader was creating history. Coincidence perhaps but doubtful.
Change is good. Letting go of the past is mandatory and today, November 5th, 2008 felt new and fresh.