All by Myself...
Wed., January 21, 10:55 AM
…that’s how I watched television yesterday. Maybe it’s a good thing. I got a lot more emotional than I would care to be in public.
I’ve always been that way. My brother used to say, “who cries at rocket launchings?” Yeah, that’s me. Or “The Star-Spangled Banner” played anywhere except a ball game, where the fans yell and scream before it’s over. It can be annoying now, because it may trigger a nosebleed. On the other hand, my sinuses feel comfortably clear.
I enjoyed the people in the crowd, and I loved seeing familiar faces preparing to go out to the front of the Capitol. The past presidents. Even the-vice presidents. (It was kind of a relief to hear Bob Schieffer say of Walter Mondale, “I didn’t recognize him,” because I didn’t either.) Senators and Representatives. The Supreme Court.
I sang along with the familiar music — that got to me too. I watched the quartet playing serious music just before President Obama took the oath, and I thought to myself, “just like Benny Goodman!” A Jewish man playing violin, an Asian on the cello, a black man playing clarinet and an Italian-American (?) on piano. The crowd was a little restless during that piece, which is unfamiliar to me, but they remained respectful.
That’s refreshing too, a huge crowd that was well-behaved. They were excited, they were joyful; they were not stupid. It gives me a little hope.
That was the one thing that I had trouble with, faith in my fellow Americans. Yes, we have faced difficulties before, and we always met them and won. But this population is not the one of seventy-five years ago, when “the only thing we had to fear was fear itself.”
I know too many people who believe — theoretically — in conservative spending, fewer luxuries, less pollution. They’re all for it, as long as you don’t touch what belongs to them. It reminds me of a man I know who was going through some sort of self-improvement program, not unlike a twelve-step program. Step Seven: don’t acquire unnecessary luxuries. “What about your sailboat?” I asked. “Oh, I already had that before I started the program,” was the reply. Between the families that have already cut spending till there’s nothing left to cut, and families that are willing to buy whatever they think they want, despite the cost, are there enough people left to implement the steps necessary to fix what needs to be fixed? I just don’t know any more.
