Our generation (Generation X/Y) grew up in a time of extreme calm. No major wars that had a real impact on most of us. No major civil rights battles that caused any major stir. Most of us grew up fairly comfortably. Any struggles we may have encountered were on a smaller more personal scale – divorce, illness … Nothing really galvanized us. During high-school history classes, I often wondered what it would be like to be in a time when there were social and political issues that people actually cared about. Our great grandparents had WWI and the great depression, our grandparents WWII, and the Korean War, our parents Vietnam and African American civil rights. What did we come together and make a stand for other than MTV? I can’t think of anything until now.
Last night I was part of one of the most amazing crowds I’ve ever seen. Thousands on the steps and grass outside Cambridge City Hall witnessed and cheered on history - the first state-sanctioned gay marriages in America. Thousands wanted to see history first hand. For most of the evening I said nothing. It was simply incredible to feel part of a larger movement that will forever change the world as a whole and individuals personally. What do you say to that except experience it? I wonder, did it feel the same to be at Woodstock, or the civil rights march on Washington? Or was this even better because this was a realization of success?
Cambridge City hall sits on top of a small hill on Mass Ave one block from Central Square, several blocks from Harvard. I stood near the top of that hill looking down over throngs of people cheering a slow procession walk up City Hall steps two by two while riot police politely did their best to keep well wishers from blocking their path. Long before midnight, the streets were full of people. The sidewalks, buildings across the street, lawns, rooftops – people everywhere showing their support.
At 11:59, the crowd hushed as a Cambridge City employee gave instructions to those who intended to marry through a loudspeaker. Cheers from large crowds are powerful. Silence from thousands is earth shattering.
As couples exited the building, thousands applauded their union. It made me really proud to be an American – and the powers that be have not given us much help with that lately. I realized that We have not lost our ability to come together and be part of historical change and create real stories that will become part fact part folklore someday. This is a crowd that will take this story to the farthest corners of the country. Through word of mouth, the story will change in innumerable ways. What doesn’t change is the fact thousands experienced a change that will go down in history. A change that affects the world as a whole and each one of us individually.
