I'm Proud to be an American!

Last Wednesday, August 28th, 2013, was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.  As you can imagine, the city planned many different events to commemorate the anniversary and I was lucky to observe and participate in one of them.  On Saturday the 24, participants held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial and then marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and then on to the Washington Memorial.

After seeing the thousands and thousands of people streaming on to the Mall during my run that morning, I decided to join the festivities after lunch, just to do some people watching.  I was not disappointed.  The first person I met was a gentleman who marched in 1963.  He was carrying the same sign he had carried as a young man.

I found myself a curb near the World War II memorial and watched the procession of protesters stream by.  One of the first groups I noticed was this one:

The gentleman in the navy suit is Rev. Al Sharpton.  The tall man in the second row is Rev. Jessie Jackson. And yes, I was this close.

Once again, it really didn't matter what my political affiliation was or what causes I supported, I was there to be a part of history, and the two men literally feet away from me were two very prominent figures in history.  It was very cool!

And speaking of causes, I watched the march for about an hour and made note of each protest sign that passed.  I saw signs for:

• support of Trayvon Martin
• against the Stand Your Ground Law
• equal rights for women
• voting rights
• housing rights
• support for labor unions
• support for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender equality
• the Japanese/American Association
• voting rights for DC
• better hours for nurses
• tax Wall Street

and my favorite...

Basically, if you supported a cause, you were welcome in the march.  Which makes being an American so incredibly amazing.  Here were thousands and thousands of people, all peacefully marching for whatever they believed in and no one bothered them.  The police were nearby watching to make sure everyone was peaceful, but they were not stopping the protest.  And all of this occurred within a half-mile of the White House.

I am so lucky to be an American.