Election weekend, 2020
Washington DC.
photo essay
“People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.” – Saul Alinsky
These photos were taken to bear witness to the events and sentiment of the times. I have no party affiliation.
Toilet paper streamers hang from the “non-scalable” fence around the perimeter of the White House, a temporary chain link structure nervously erected in anticipation of Election Day 2020.
As it became clear that Biden was was winning the election, thousands of supporters took to the streets of the capital city, to march and celebrate.
Most shops stayed closed over the weekend, with retail stores and public spaces around the city boarded up, in anticipation of the riots that never came.
Meanwhile, the capital’s great monuments of liberty and justice stayed open and aflock with visitors.
As evening fell, crowds of Biden supporters flocked to the Washington Monument grounds to celebrate.
Freelance news reporters covering the story of the Biden win, against the backdrop of a surprisingly quiet night in the city.
Elections move me. Democracy, even when flawed and ill-used, inherently protects the value of all men. In every place on earth where elections are held, a stand is made for equality. Often brave, sometimes desperate and ignorant. But a stand nonetheless.
One day we will tell our children about how this nation nearly tore itself apart in the vicious political events of 2020–early ’21. Or perhaps not. Perhaps, the visceral feelings of shock, grief and outrage will fade over time. Racism, bigotry, elected government and pandemic will all become one giant blur. Everything was political and nothing was. We will all suffer from injustice-fatigue and information-overload. Apathy will settle our stomachs. And we will simply move on, till history repeats itself.
Or perhaps not. Perhaps, though it demands work and compassion, we can still the noise and search out the lessons we want to remember from this season. We can tell our children that we stayed in the fight, that we stayed awake. And we will care about our leaders and about each other, regardless of party or dogma. The vote, that great tool of democracy, is not a self-serving, self-appeasing thing. It is the responsibility and privilege to embrace mess and discomfort, that we may uphold the freedoms and wellbeing of all men, all women, all children.