Just Enough for the City
By Megan Lang
5 September 2008
Being that I am a Metro Detroiter, a die hard liberal and big fan of Barack Obama, I decided it was my duty to make the short trip to downtown Detroit this past Monday to see Obama speak in Hart Plaza. The speech, which took place on a hot day at the closing of the Labor Day Parade and just before the start of the last day of the Jazz Festival, drew a huge (and I mean huge) crowd. Obama spoke before 20,000+ supporters, many of which were union workers and organizers, and from what I understand, there were people camped out as early as 2 a.m. the night before to make sure they would be able to hear him speak. For the thousands of people (myself included) who were not able to get in to Hart Plaza before they handed out all the tickets and reached maximum capacity, there was a large screen set up just outside the gates so we could watch the speech.
Due to some technical difficulties, the speech was barely audible for those of us outside the gates. And because it was a relatively short speech, it felt rather anticlimactic. I desperately wanted to get in to the plaza and I knew it was a let down for a number of other people who were denied entrance as well.
I heard (after the fact) that he made a great little speech, briefly discussing his support of the labor movement and a federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize. He spoke of his concern about Hurricane Gustav and asked for a moment of silence for the residents of Louisiana. He even started to sing a modified version of "Chain of Fools" by Detroit native Aretha Franklin, a part of the speech which I was, at the very least, able to hear. Keeping with the theme of his campaign, he sang, "Change, change, chaaaaange..."
I could see people all around me looking helpless, wanting to know why the speakers had failed to work - why this had to happen the way it did. Initially, I was disappointed that after the trouble it took to get down there, I would not be able to see Obama live. And upon realizing the unfortunate circumstances we were in, I knew this would not be a speech I could tell my family about. He quickly came and went, and I took a deep sigh, wondering if this might have been my last opportunity to see the deeply inspiring man who is running for president - who is making history.
Nonetheless, at that moment, when Obama began to walk away and the crowd started to cheer, I took one look around me and suddenly felt this rush of elation. Just to be in the presence of such an abundance of passionate people was incredible. Detroit has seen better days and the people living here have been feeling discouraged and disappointed for far too long. They are ready for some serious change and I'm just happy I was there to see it firsthand. I'm happy to be alive to witness and take part in these extremely momentous events, and I can't help but feel even more alive lately just seeing (and hearing) so much emotion in people young and old - whether it be undying hope and enthusiasm, bitter rage, or fear of what is to come. Up until recently, there seemed to be a long period of numbness - a complete loss of feeling, even when major things were happening all around us. So, while many of the Detroiters who came out to show their support on that hot Monday afternoon didn't return home feeling completely satisfied, I think people everywhere are actually starting to feel again...and what more could we ask for?
