Ode to Abe

– April 1, 2007
I decided to take a walk down to the Lincoln Memorial yesterday. Took the 23rd street down all the way until I came to the place where, you guessed it, Reese Witherspoon stood and questioned Abe Lincoln about justice and opportunity. Regardless of what anyone says, the memorial is a complex monument that stands for so many things.

I sat down for a while and watched people passing me by, running up and down the stairs, taking photographs of one another to capture the moment in the lens of their cameras - the fact that they were on the foot of a monument that encapsulates the rights, virtues and values of life better than most people will ever know.

Don’t take me wrong – I’m not a history buff. I don’t remember when the memorial was built and I don’t even know why President Abraham Lincoln has a memorial attributed to him. What I do know is this (though feel free to correct me if I am wrong) –

Abraham Lincoln, as unpopular as he was before he actually assumed his presidency, is a testament to freedom, democracy, equality and gives people like me a bit of hope. I climbed up the stairs and for some odd reason, I couldn’t turn my back on the statue, despite the fact that I wanted to turn around and take a photograph of the The Mall and the Washington Monument. I had to maneuver myself around the sitting public and got a side shot of the view I wanted. In fact, the small, almost insignificant sign that said, ‘quiet – please respect’ didn’t do too much to get the people to quiet down either, which just led me to question whether the people who were there really understood the significance of the Lincoln Memorial.

It’s not about race, religion or creed – it’s a statue for god’s sakes. But hello? It’s about something more than that.

It’s funny how honest Abe draws out more emotion in me than the museums I went through (and don’t take me wrong because I loved those museums!! That’s why I went through all of them!!)

People like me who come from lands so far away, often are in awe of how great the history of western countries are – something that the present circumstance doesn’t necessarily reflect. Wait a second - am I reading too much into symbolism and significance and the historical reference?

And so my running route was mapped and I went back the next evening, armed with my Ipod Nano, listening to Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ About a Revolution”, running next to the Arlington Cemetary, thinking about how people from different backgrounds and ethnicities help to make the world a better place… or do they…