During the Reagan years, I lived and worked in Washington D.C., and I grew to love that city with a passion.
A little background:
During those years, I ran an upscale women's apparel shop in the area of 17th and K streets, aka the business district and/or lobbyist land, and the area where Ted Koppel had his office and where he frequently broadcast Nightline. One of my stock boys was a Nancy Reagan marine¹, on a sabbatical, working toward his masters degree at Georgetown University at government expense, and moonlighting in my shop. (Oh, the stories he told us about working at the WH parties.) Yes, Washington is an odd place, and more like a small town in many ways than anything else..
While I loved and will always love WDC, it is many things, and one of the things it was during the Reagan years is heartless to the plight of the homeless.
I used to wonder how a man could be THE President, and look out from his windows in the White House on a daily basis, and see the urgent need of these poor people, and do nothing to change it. Nothing that mattered.
During the winter, these people slept across from the WH nightly, trying to stay warm on heating grates, or whatever they are called. One of them slept under the awnings over my shop year round. I used to buy him breakfast at the French pastry shop next door. Just a palmier or a croissant and a coffee. I also occasionally brought him some home-baked goodies or a few bucks or a hat and scarf when it was cold outside. Just little things which I did out of both compassion and to assuage my own guilt at not being needy. No big deal.
DC had a huge homeless population, many more than I had ever seen in any large city. Truly. An inconvenient fact largely ignored by the government, and that I saw as highly incongruent That my country, the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world had such a large population of homeless living in it's capitol city was a source of shame to me.
Anyway, while Reagan as a president never held any luster for me, in fact, I saw him as highly anti-intellectual, and a mere figurehead for the GOP, I learned to deeply dislike him when Gorbachev visited him in Washington in 1987. In preparation for Gorbachev's visit, the city "cleaned up" the homeless. They simply vanished from the streets for a week or so. I have no idea where they took them, and they didn't exactly broadcast it, but they were gone. No where to be seen. I was ashamed to be an American.
When Gorbachev toured the city in a limo cavalcade, he came down 17th Street and as I was crossing K Street at 17th on my way back to my shop from the bank, he stopped at the corner, and I and several others, shook his hand, and I said "they hid the homeless for you". He looked at me quite quizzically (gee, I wonder why), and moved on.
So, to return to the present time, and of the needy and homeless........
On Friday, after celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and a few friends the day before, I read that the Obama family had spent the day before Thanksgiving passing out food to the needy in Chicago, saying that they want Malia and Sasha to understand that they are very lucky, and to learn empathy, and to learn that they are expected to give back to their community.
From Huffpo:
“Ten-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha joined their parents to shake hands and give holiday wishes to hundreds of people who had been lined up for hours at the food bank on Chicago's south side.
Sasha wore a pink stocking hat over her pigtails and Malia had on a purple striped hat as the family handed out wrapped chickens to the needy in the chilly outdoor courtyard. Those seeking food on Wednesday at St. Columbanus also received boxes with potatoes, oranges, fresh bread, peanut butter, canned goods, oatmeal, spaghetti and coffee.
The president-elect, dressed casually in a leather jacket, black scarf and khaki pants, was in a jovial mood, calling out "happy thanksgiving" and telling everyone "you can call me Barack."
He told reporters that he wants the girls "to learn the importance of how fortunate they are, and to make sure they're giving back."
The soon-to-be first lady said the Obamas wanted to give their children "an understanding of what giving and Thanksgiving is all about."”
While engaged in their activity of giving out food to the needy, they caught the attention of schoolchildren in a school overlooking the scene, who posted a sign in a classroom window for Obama.
I saw this, and it touched my heart, as have many things that have occurred in the past few months.
This man, Barack Obama, makes me feel hope. He makes me want to let go of the fear and cynicism of the last eight long years.
I believe that he has moved us away from our complacency, and shown us that we can have an effect on our national politics. This is such a gift. And this is what I am grateful for this Thanksgiving. The man simply makes people want to be better people. He brings out the best in many, and that inspiration may just be all we really need.
>>Cross posted on Inspire Emotion.
¹ At WH parties during the Reagan years, Nancy Reagan hand-picked US Marines to attend in groups. These guys were purportedly chosen based upon their appearance --- their primary qualification was that they were good-looking men.
