Part of the Process

It has been a few minutes since I have put my thoughts down on paper….or transmitted them through the keystrokes on a keyboard, in the form of a blog.  So after all the events that I have experienced in the past few weeks, I feel inspired to write down a few words, and share them.
To make a  very long story short,  Monday, January 21 2013 was the culmination of many weeks of work to get a President re-elected.  All of the door-knocking, sign-waving and phone banking paid off, as I was privileged to be a witness to the pageantry of democracy. I had been awarded the coveted Red Ticket to the 57th Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies. Even as I write this, I am still in disbelief. To think that this all really started in 2008 when my wife re-directed  us, as we were on the way to another wallet draining trip to Columbia Mall. The Obama Headquarters at Sterrett Place was buzzing, so we went there out of curiosity, and were immediately swept into the campaign. Before we knew it, we were phone banking to people who didn’t want their dinners interrupted …again, and canvassing in Hanover, PA…where before that time, I had absolutely no reason to visit. All of that was just a miniscule contribution in the quest to elect our first African-American President.  Getting him re-elected would be a little trickier, and would require much more than a miniscule effort on my part.
In the midst of the 2012 campaign, I got a call from a representative of the Maryland Democratic Party, telling me that I had been chosen  as a Maryland Presidential Elector. I was at work at the time of the call, and almost dropped the phone. I know that my mouth was hanging open. “Me”, I asked. “Are you sure”. He assured me that I had been recommended by the chairwoman of the party, and it had been approved by the governor. My first question of course was, “You mean….the governor knows me?”
All of this happened before the election, and after the “dreadful” first debate (I still call it strategy). After the President had scared  Democrats to death, but most importantly  after he mobilized us from overconfident malaise to definitive action. I now really wanted him to win, and really needed him to win. Not only for the good of the country…..but because I wanted to cast my electoral vote for him.  Of course on November 6, 2012 that wish came true. I was now definitely an elector. I now realized that I was one of only 10 people in the state. One of  only 332 people in the country.  I was actually one of the votes that they analyzed on MSNBC and pondered over on CNN, and debated on Fox News. Without me, he only had 331 electoral votes. For a minute I had a sense of empowerment, a sense of being elevated…but most of all…I felt like an important part of the process.
We cast our electoral votes in mid December at the State House in Annapolis.  The ceremony in and of itself was historic. My vote for President Obama and Vice-President Biden as well as my signature was destined to become a permanent part of Maryland history. A fact of life that still boggles my mind.
As a result of being an elector, I was invited to the Inauguration Ceremonies. If that were not exciting enough, I was invited by my congressman to witness the electoral vote count in the chambers of the House of Representatives. …which I did without hesitation.
It was a cold morning on January 21, not as cold as the Inauguration in 2009...by a long shot. I  joked that this felt downright tropical, compared to the that January morning. It also occurred to me that I was shivering with my sons, just a few feet away from the Smithsonian Castle in 2009. Now, my wife and I would be just a few yards from the podium where the President would deliver his second Inaugural address. I was once again a witness to history. As we got through security, and rounded the corner to the West Side of the Capitol, I saw that it was brightly illuminated, since it was early, and the the sky was still darkened. I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by the magnitude of this event as the podium came into view. The realization that this event was happening on Dr. Martin Luther King Day was even more awesome.
I left the Inauguration Ceremonies inspired. Not because I saw celebrities passing by almost every minute. Not because I got to see Beyonce sing the National Anthem. (there is a little controversy about whether she sang it or lip-synced it…but does it matter?) Not even because I witnessed the President give one of the best speeches that I’ve ever heard. I came away inspired because after all of out differences in this country. After all of our problems, and pettiness, and reality shows (yep…I went there)…this is still the greatest country in the world. Our peaceful exchange of power is something that other countries emulate. Our pageant of democracy is something that other countries envy. I was just more than honored to be a part of the process!