may 19, 2008

A few months ago I had a conversation w/ my grandma over the phone, she's a sweet traditional Asian lady who lives in the countryside of Taiwan, down South, where taxis are hard to find and trains are few in between. We don't get to talk to each other often because of the language barrier, and when we do talk, it's always short greetings. However, this particular conversation was different.

After the usual 'hello's' and 'how are you's', she surprised me by asking "who you like for president?" To which I reply: "Obama." thinking that she probably doesn’t even know what I’m talking about, but to my surprise, she understood. Not only did she understand who I was talking about, she knows who he is, the values that he carries with him, and what he stands for, which is more than what I can say about most of my friends.

And this got me to thinking, if this 3,500 miles away non-English speaking Taiwanese woman in her 80's cares enough about this primary race that she would take the time out to mention it to her grandson, whom, she only talks to 3 times a years. Then, perhaps we, as in you and me, should be more concern about what is going on before our eyes.

History took place on this day, May 18th of 2008, as 72,000 people gathered together down at the waterfront for the biggest rally this state, or this primary has ever seen. The lines stretched from blocks to blocks, turning downtown Portland into a Disney theme park, just as you thought that you are getting close to the entrance, the line turns down the block again and loops around another corner.

I arrived downtown at 11:45, thinking I had plenty of time to find my place in the rally since the doors don’t open till 12:30, and he’s not schedule to speak until 2:30. And as I drove past the gate I noticed the sidewalks were filled with people just standing outside the Marriott, and curious to find out if there’s a special conference at the hotel. I ended up parking up by PSU because there no parking spot anywhere close by the waterfront, but I didn't mind 'cause it was a nice walk on a sunny day.

However, as I get closer to the waterfront, I found out that the line that circles around the Marriott was actually no other than the line to get in the rally. And as soon as people realize that, everyone started following the line backwards in a panic frenzy to be the first in the back of the line. Crowds of eager fans storms through the line, only to be stopped (sometimes) by the ironically red light that otherwise keeps the Armies of Blue from taking over the city. As we walk, the line seems to be growing faster than the pace we’re walking, increasing the distance with each family, youth, elder, dog, street vendor, ordinary person like you and me. Finally, when I reached the end of the line, I was 5 blocks past where I parked my car. The line wasn’t there when I left. And it was still 2.25 hours before Obama steps on the stage.

For those who came late, or ‘not early enough’, their fortunate didn’t not turn out as good as mine. 12,000 people were left outside of the rally because they couldn’t get through the line in time to get in the rally, which leaves us with 60,000 people who did. And from where I stood, I was probably number 59,358, because I just got in no more than minutes before he began his speech. And for those who never been in a 60,000 long line before, it’s about a 2.5 hour wait, and it stretches 25 blocks, so bring your walking shoe.

And was it worth the wait? I believe that every single person who was there would tell you that it was. Even if I ended up having to listen to him while standing in line 3 blocks away, I would still tell you that it was well worth it. Not just because it was a fun historical event that I’ll remember 20, 30 years from now, not just because I got to be part of the pinnacle of what is yet to come, but because on this day, I stood up for what I believed and let my voice be heard.

We are just one voice, but with one voice it can start up a family, and one family can build up a team; one team can fight for a good cause, and one cause can stir up a rally, and 72,000 voices at the rally can fire up the city, one city can light up the state, one state can move the nation, and together, we can be one nation that change the world. This is where it all begins. It’s time to be educated, start caring, and get involved.