Woodstock Without the Mud
By GAIL COLLINS
NYT
Having been lucky enough to attend two of the most memorable events in modern American history, I am able to report that Inauguration Day in Washington was very much like a cold-weather Woodstock.
At both, there was a wonderful feeling of community. Along, of course, with the sense that at any moment, you could be trampled to death by thousands of very friendly people who were being moved around like the world’s most mellow herd of cattle.
The big difference was in the national reaction. The only people who felt unified during Woodstock were those who were there — everybody else was horrified or jealous. But the inauguration left the whole country glued together emotionally, one big American ball of hope.
President Obama has made it clear that each of us has a role to perform, sacrifices to make in the great task of rebuilding the country. But his inaugural speech did not actually make those new duties look all that daunting. He mentioned firefighters running into burning buildings and parents nurturing their children, both of which have been going on for some time. He expressed hope that if a levee broke, we would help the refugees, and I have a feeling that in the event of another such crisis we will not disappoint.
(More here.)
NYT
Having been lucky enough to attend two of the most memorable events in modern American history, I am able to report that Inauguration Day in Washington was very much like a cold-weather Woodstock.
At both, there was a wonderful feeling of community. Along, of course, with the sense that at any moment, you could be trampled to death by thousands of very friendly people who were being moved around like the world’s most mellow herd of cattle.
The big difference was in the national reaction. The only people who felt unified during Woodstock were those who were there — everybody else was horrified or jealous. But the inauguration left the whole country glued together emotionally, one big American ball of hope.
President Obama has made it clear that each of us has a role to perform, sacrifices to make in the great task of rebuilding the country. But his inaugural speech did not actually make those new duties look all that daunting. He mentioned firefighters running into burning buildings and parents nurturing their children, both of which have been going on for some time. He expressed hope that if a levee broke, we would help the refugees, and I have a feeling that in the event of another such crisis we will not disappoint.
(More here.)
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