Did you see the We are One celebration yesterday? It was a powerful combination of our best words, music, and ideas. From the MLK and JFK quotes you’d expect to Reagan quotes you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Mary J. Blige or Jon Bon Jovi but they provided a moving performance with a gritty civil rights classic “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Most know me as a U2 fan and it’s Bono’s words that provoked this post. Brian Williams from NBC’s Nightly News interviewed Bono after rehearsals Saturday night. Bono was overheard to say it felt like the band had somehow trespassed on the American dream. His emotional understanding of the moment guided Bono’s responses to Brian’s questions.
I’m going to save his answer just long enough to set the stage…
Aerial views of the thousands of people crowding the mall brought back personal memories for some and a sense of living history for others. We’ve seen crowds on the mall like this before. Is it one of our most public spaces? U2 performed two songs. Where they started is where many worried our march for civil rights had ended. They sang “Pride (In the Name of Love),” their tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King.
The song begins…
One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One come he to justify
One man to overthrow…
The conclusion makes the song personal…
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your prideIn the name of love
What more in the name of love…
If time hadn’t already found itself in a crazy loop with MLK’s pride and passion present again on those famous steps, Obama then took center stage. His speech spoke to this moment while heeding the voices of moments past. This moment, with the past and future present at once, is where Bono’s remarks found their fuel.We now we return to Brian Williams and Bono.
Brian asks Bono what it means to the band to be a part of the inaugural celebration. Bono expresses his hope that it internationalizes it somehow adding, with a friendly jab to the ribs, “You might own the country but you don’t own the idea.”
Bono imagines people around the globe watching the ceremony on Tuesday and adds:
When this man swears in on Lincoln’s Bible, he proves that America exists. It’s an astonishing thing because in a way people had ruled out Amerca. They counted you out. They think… oh yeah, America is just for America. It strangely changes everything.
And with that assertion, that this moment on Tuesday provides proof that America exists, I thought of the question of who we are or, as Matthew added, who we is. The words we use this week and the moments we create resonate with answers to these questions. Do some words carry the weight of our past while others herald the promise of our future? Are those the same words or are they different? Are some words and moments more substantive than others? What makes the difference?
Not only do the words we use at this moment in history matter, but what we do in the coming days/weeks/months will dictate who we are/is more than anything. Remember, actions speak louder than words . . .
Many times during the past few days, the Declaration of Independence has been referred to; this is especially true in President Obama’s (first time I typed that — hopefully not the last) inauguration address & in MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Our Founding Fathers knew first hand what it meant to live under the yolk of tyranny; in comparison, we all of us have lived and grown-up under relatively peaceful and secure times. Now more than ever, the ideas and ideals expressed in that document have meaning & power. We all understand the importance of understanding the meaning and intent of what the Founding Fathers set out to create; getting the next generation to understand this is a whole different matter.
I feel that their weight and meaning have always been there; perhaps we just have ignored them, for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we stand at a historic tipping point – a place where we are on the cusp of making those ideas & ideals closer to becoming a reality. The difference is that the environment in which we view them has changed – the circumstances and attitudes have changed. Our responsibility of teaching the nation’s youth on the importance of civics and citizenship has, arguably, been made easier.
Or has it been made harder? But has there ever been a better time to stress the original meaning of the Declaration of Independence? Has there ever been a better time to stress the original meaning and intent of the Constitution? If we as a nation are to see this great “awakening” in civic responsibility, do we have an increased responsibility of making sure that the original intent is made clear?