Medal of Freedom

Tonight we went to see George H. Bush and Bill Clinton accept the Medal of Freedom. I left at about 5 pm. Traffic in Center City was solid, nothing was moving. The plan was to work my way south until I could turn left and cross Broad Street, make my way east and then finally to turn left again and drive as far north as I could go. When more than a half hour after I started I found myself still west of Broad and traveling north and further west still I abandoned any hope of parking near the Convention Center. I inched over to 7th and South, parked the car and walked to 6th and Market. I met my DGF on the corner, we qued up at several security check points and eventually arrived at our standing room location on the front lawn of the Constitution Center.

The lawn was not crowded. There was plenty of room to move off from the group a bit, stroll around or sit on the wall at the edge of the side walk. The whole thing felt a little like a large family gathering or a big outdoor wedding.

The politicians talked. The singers sang. Medals were given. Bush was inarticulate, so was Street (I'm always surprised...). Clinton was thoughtful and skillful. Jon Bon Jovi sang afterwards.

But when it was all over and once we were past the security it was remarkably like any autumn night, in any town center, standing on any patch of green with neighbors marking some event of local significance. Not at all like a a post 9/11, post-terror, neo-conservative world.