Renewed Faith

It's been quite a while since I updated this blog. I have begun a new year of LVC, moved houses, gained seven new community members, taken on more responsibilities at work, started biking and recently returned from a re-energizing retreat on the Chesapeake Bay.

I hope to go into more detail about some of these developments, and although I didn't mean for this blog to become a political soapbox, I thought I would break my silence to say that I am thrilled that the House passed the health care reform bill. While I don't think any of us really knows enough to predict if it's going to solve all of America's health care problems, I do think that a reform bill this comprehensive was a long time coming and we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Knowing what I do about how damn hard it is to get this kind of controversial legislation to move, I think it's quite amazing that it was able to pass at all. Because if this kind of reform can't pass now it never will. Although why health care coverage is controversial I don't entirely understand.

If the response of the bill's opponents was this, then I say shame on them and I am glad they lost. If Republicans' response to the health care crisis in this country is "if you want health care coverage, pay for it yourself" then I have no problem with this political victory for Democrats. In this case I do not believe that the invisible hand of the market will provide, as it currently does not for the 47 million people in this country without health care coverage. I have no problem with costs going up for everyone if it means more people can get coverage.

I feel a sense of renewed faith in the democratic process, and renewed hope that I haven't felt since November 4, 2008. I am so proud of the President and of the House of Representatives for making this such a central issue this year and I will continue to pray that their efforts result in greater public health for the people our country.

Inauguration Day '09

It's been quite some time - and yet here I am posting on the same topic. Ah, well, here goes!

In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, I was surprised at how many people I spoke to - coworkers, family friends - who hadn't planned to actually attend the swearing-in ceremony. And given the logistical nightmare the weekend was starting to sound like what with street closures, crowds of millions, and bitter January cold, I guess I couldn't blame them. Like me, many of them had grown up in the DC area and were a little jaded by all of the hullabaloo that happens every four years. But for me that was all the more reason to be there in person. This was likely the biggest and most important event to take place in recent history, and living two miles away from it in my own hometown meant that come hell, high water, or tourists, I was going.

Luckily, I had many new non-DC-native LVC friends who were just as excited as I was whose attendance was also without question. Residents of the Emmaus and Bon Houses along with Casa Caritas visitors set out on foot at 7am. Seeing streets that were usually filled with cars traveling in either direction to have shoulder-to-shoulder people stalled in line facing only the direction of the mall made it feel like a different street entirely. The number of tents and stands selling warm food and Obama paraphernalia reminded me more of open-air markets I'd seen in other countries rather than downtown DC.

While waiting, we watched a guy climb up on a streetlight, who reported on the status of the crowds. The streetlights kept changing despite the fact that none of us could control whether or not we were "jaywalking." We stood near several other apartment buildings whose residents were watching us from the warmth of their living rooms. Sara from the Bon House created a visual scavenger hunt including items such as "llama hat" and "redhead with glasses" which helped pass the time. Finally, we heard that the line was just too long fur us to expect to get through the security checkpoint, which was only admitting a few people at a time. We opted to walk another ¾ of a mile and easily found a spot to stand behind the Washington Monument, where we could see the tip of the Capitol dome and a digital screen that would show us everything going on underneath.

We were surrounded by happy people from all walks of life who had come from all over the country and the world to watch Obama take the oath of office. I thought about how fortunate I am to live in a city and have an LVC placement where I can work on influencing the democratic process. I thought about how privileged we are to live in a society where, as Senator Dianne Feinstein put it so well, the ballot prevails over the bullet. And here I was, watching a peaceful transfer of power in my own hometown. I don't think I will ever again in my life hear three million people cheer for one person.



Emmaus / Bonhoeffer/ Casa Caritas Inaugural Route



Cold but Happy LVCers



President Obama on the JumboTron


Festivities aside, it's important to note that George W. Bush was president for most of my formative years, at least politically. The following illustrate where I was as a person in January 2001:

* All of my grandparents were alive.
* I had never seen an episode of the West Wing.
* I had only spent ten days out of the country.
* September 11th was a different anniversary.
* I had only driven a car once in a parking lot.
* I had never had a regular paying job.
* I had never heard of Grinnell College or Barack Obama.
* In all likelihood, I was unclear on the differences between the House and the Senate.
* I had never attended a protest or voted.
* I had never been to the Midwest.
* The only places I had ever received mail were in Virginia and I had never been away from home for longer than two weeks.
*If you had told me I would someday grow to like the taste of beer or coffee, I'd have laughed in your face.

I have clearly grown a lot in the past eight years. I don't really know yet what it's like to have a president I admire or whose policies I agree with. I like it so far, though.