Inauguration insights

Wallenpaupack junior sees her candidate take the helm

Edited by SANDY LONG

sandylong@riverreporter.com

HAWLEY, PA — Grace Wildermuth, a resident of Pike County and 16-year-old junior at Wallenpaupack Area High School in Hawley, traveled with family members to attend the inauguration of America’s 44th president, Barack Obama. Leading up to Obama’s election, Wildermuth led an effort at her high school, within the predominantly Republican Pike County, to raise awareness of Obama’s candidacy and to register voters, despite the fact that she was too young to vote. Wildermuth recounts her experience in the following paragraphs.

The campaign

“I have never before been very involved in politics or elections, mostly because I wasn’t old enough to understand that my future would be shaped by the outcome and decisions made. This time around, I not only cared about the results, but did my best to educate myself about each candidate and find ways that I could get involved.

“I did what I could by registering students at my high school to vote and, like most supporters, wore t-shirts and different OBAMA buttons for each day of the week. I’m not one to shy away from discussing my views and opinions, so I found myself talking about the election at every opportunity.

“I enjoyed many wonderful discussions with my classmates; some were that of agreement while others grew quite heated. But every discussion I had helped me to learn more about the election and the candidates, and hopefully influenced more students to get involved. Doing what I could for this election caused me to look forward to getting more involved in future political activism.

“I was inspired by people across the country who dropped what they were doing in order to join their candidate’s cause or to register people to vote. While watching Obama’s acceptance speech in Grant Park, my mom and I decided that we simply had to be at the

inauguration. Luckily, we have family that live just outside of DC, so we were able to skip the impossible task of finding a hotel room.

The inauguration

“Witnessing the inauguration first-hand was by far the greatest experience of my life. After walking about four miles, we made it into DC by 8:30 a.m. As we were walking towards the location of the inaugural ceremony, groups of people taking different routes joined together, like tributaries feeding into a river, and the number of people grew by the minute. We were greeted by volunteers wishing us a good morning, with huge smiles on their faces, despite the biting cold weather.

“We walked in past the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. once gave his historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. We continued moving forward to the capital building, where the first African American President of the United States of America was to give his inaugural address. We ended up right beside the Washington Monument, about a mile away from the podium at which President-elect Obama would deliver his speech. Nearby, a large-screen megatron provided live video and audio coverage of the event.

“Every time I looked back, more people had gathered behind us and crowds stretched as far as I could see. I think what surprised me most was the mood of the people. I witnessed several acts of kindness from complete strangers, such as an old woman behind me offering me hand warmers, and two young men in front of us lifting a woman up on their shoulders so that she could look for her daughter.

“As the time of the inauguration drew closer, we went from looking like a herd of wildebeest spread out comfortably on the grass to a colony of penguins huddled together to survive the Antarctic winter. The scene was filled with fur coats and blankets, gloves and mittens, hand warmers and hats. For hours, we clustered together, shaking from the cold as well as anticipation.

“We finally started to see the guests arrive on the megatron. I found it interesting to listen to the crowd’s reaction as each famous politician and celebrity was shown. Some, like Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the Obama family themselves, received roars of approval. The crowd booed as the megatron showed George W. Bush, as well as George Bush Sr. entering.

“The crowd also shared its disapproval when Evangelical pastor Rick Warren, who has caused controversy with his statements about gay rights, came out to give the opening prayer. As soon as he started talking, however, the crowd grew silent. When he recited the Lord’s Prayer, everyone around me bowed their heads, most of them mouthing the words as he said it. I could never have envisioned a crowd of that size showing such respect, despite hard feelings.

“As I looked around, I couldn’t help but choke up, not over the religious aspect, but simply for the impact of so many people standing with their heads bowed in silence as far as you can see. I have never heard or felt such emotion as that shown by the masses after Obama completed the oath of office. I looked around and saw people cheering and crying (as I did myself). The crowd went from this to complete silence as President Obama began his speech. I could not have been more impressed by what he said, and how he said it. Quotes from that speech stuck in my mind in a way that I don’t think I will ever forget.

“One of the best parts of being there that day was seeing so many people excited about their government. Although I realize the many hardships that our country faces right now, I can’t help but be hopeful for the changes to come. As President Obama said in his inaugural address, ‘Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America—they will be met.’”