Inside Furman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
Five-hour wait, unforgettable journey
by Brent Nelsen
The nation's capital is the perfect location for putting into practice the “engaged learning” ideal Furman preaches.
For more than 25 summers the Department of Political Science has offered 40 students each year the chance to experience life inside the Beltway by interning in Washington, D.C. Part of the program, however, is to take advantage of Washington “events.” This summer's event — at least so far — was President Reagan's State Funeral.
The reports from the Mall were not good. The lines to see President Reagan lying in state were long. Did I really want to stay up half the night for a 30-second trip through the Capitol Rotunda? I half-heartedly informed my students on Wednesday night, June 9, that I was planning to . . . thinking about . . . maybe interested in . . . going downtown after class to stand in line. This was not “engaged learning” enthusiasm at its Furman best.
Wednesday night slipped by; no students begged to go. I went to bed.
Thursday evening rolled around and still I procrastinated. Late that afternoon, however, I got a call from two students, Cole Gresham and Matt Barofsky, who were all of 4 years old when Reagan left office. “Are you still serious about visiting the Capitol?” I faked it and said yes. We piled in my red pickup (we are from South Carolina, after all!) at 6:30 p.m., found a free parking space an hour later and entered the line at 7:45. The friendly park ranger said it would be five hours from that point. We laughed: “He's just scaring us.” We left the Capitol at exactly 12:45 a.m. — you do the math!
The sky threatened, but never rained. It was warm and humid and we were in line with America: black, white, Hispanic and Asian America; Christian, Muslim, Jewish America; rich America, poor America; the very young and very old; the walking and wheelchair-bound; Northern and Southern and Californian America; military and civilian; Republican, and, yes, Democratic America. There were men in suits with cell phones; young couples carrying sleeping children; a man reading his Bible, another Harry Potter; and a woman who wanted to take pictures of anyone from Kentucky.
We were all in a line that switched back and forth on itself so many times that you soon thought you knew the people you passed. These were your people, this was your community, and together you were the lifeblood of America passing through the nation's heart.
Inside the Rotunda, America gathered around her former leader. Heads were bowed in prayer; a family made the sign of the cross; a World War II vet saluted; hands rose to hearts; a young man wept quietly. And the military guard kept silent vigil over a flag, and a casket, and the memories of a leader who made a nation proud to be America again.
Reagan's vision was simple and his optimism contagious. His words lifted a people discouraged by economic and political failure. They were words we, as America, wanted to hear again.
The writer is professor and chair of Furman's Department of Political Science.