Viewpoint: A taste of democracy

I just spent the busiest two days of my entire life running around Washington, D.C. – going to educational and community events, checking out the Newseum and other places I just had to see and conversing with every kind of person you might imagine about things that I am insanely passionate about. Things like journalism and the idea of truth and how by simply connecting and exchanging information, we can change the world.
And I got to be right there helping that happen. Myself and about 150,000 other people ~ each one alive with their own passions~ got to be there too. Sharing a collective excitement that one could only really understand by being in the middle of it.
Through the Internet and grassroots journalism, millions more will know what happened in Washington, D.C. On Oct. 11, we made history. And a day later those of with news desks or at least some freelance work have this huge responsibility to chronicle what really happened there in the complete and unbiased way that all seekers of truth have to view the world.
It's a great thing! But there is a problem. How am I supposed to explain to readers in 800 words or less what I got out of the experience?
I can throw in the usual requirements: Gay couples kissing on the Capitol. Random hateful and over-represented protesters telling gays they will burn in hell. Bright-eyed hopeful college students going to D.C. to change the world. The older generation's memories. These are great images to keep sending the world and they are necessary. People need repetitive positive exposures to such images to help them feel comfortable with the movement.
But they also need meaningful connections to other human beings. They need to hear our stories and points of view. My goal as a reporter is to inform, inspire and unite people together as human beings by sharing their stories. I firmly believe that the media has a changing role and right now is the time to step up and show others what pride is all about. What going to see your representatives face to face and demanding their ear is really all about. What talking to strangers about public issues is all about.
I want you to see D.C. through my eyes. Like how because the hotels were all full I ended up being taken in for the night by the most wonderful family of Quakers and their lesbian daughter, along with a handful of other displaced marchers from all over the state.
And how when I got up before 8 a.m. and walked to the metro station in Silver Spring, the sound of chanting hit me about three blocks before the station. "One, two, three, four, homophobia must go," chanted the 40 or so students from the lower subway platform. I arrived just as the police dispersed the crowd with threats of arrest and pulled the student leader aside for questioning. These young people came on a bus down from Boston and hadn't even made it out of Maryland yet.
I made it a point to talk to strangers. Not just the people at the rallies and events, but just regular people out and about in various places in the city. Two single mothers with very different outlooks on how to communicate with their children; the community leader with memories of police beatings and the young people around him that seek guidance; the guy who sat up all night with me explaining Marxism and how the ultimate fight for society is not just about minority groups but about a class system that separates the rich from the poor.
The community gardens, the good public transportation system – including public bicycles – and all the positive things that I can bring back to Michigan from this trip.
But part of me also wants to complain about how the march was 2.3 miles long, which made it hard for many people to even finish. And how the events were spread out so far in the city that even someone who lived there might not make all the ones they'd like.
Or how organizations like Affirmations and Triangle didn't seem to do much to help people in the Detroit area get involved with this massive historic event. Even if their budgets are down, it does not take anything but time to pass on information and opportunities.
I was heartbroken not to see much of a Michigan presence.
There is an odd sort of pressure to not bring up the criticisms like that – to just keep the gay stories positive because they're up against so much negative from outside the community anyway. I can't even really place where I get this feeling, but it doesn't matter because I am done with it. We need to be critical of ourselves and the things we do. I want you to be critical of me and vice versa because only through debate and through trial and error that we can really test out the path that we are collectively on in this country towards true equal rights for all human beings.
But I guess no matter what others do or do not do, the important thing is to keep doing what I think is right. I must keep sharing with readers the things that I learn from others, so that we can all benefit from the knowledge and the experience. I hope that at the next national march, more people will get involved and join me at the Capitol to experience democracy first hand.