mardi 27 juin 2017
This "Magical" Capitol Steps Moment Will Make You Feel Better About the World
1. Tonight, something kinda magical happened on the steps of the Capitol. It started like this: http://pic.twitter.com/9HDvz4K4W6
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
As politicians continue to mull over the polarizing Senate health care bill, a profound Capitol Hill moment is uplifting those who have lost hope due to the current political climate. On June 26, Senator Cory Booker and Representative John Lewis sat down on the steps of the Capitol Building to discuss the healthcare proposal via Facebook livestream.
2. Those two guys on the Capitol steps: NJ Sen @CoryBooker and civil rights hero @repjohnlewis. Another shot of the beginning: http://pic.twitter.com/lvYdbnFkGU
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
What started as a candid conversation among two political leaders, however, quickly turned into a beautiful public forum as hundreds of people joined in. Ben Wikler, a director at MoveOn, captured the start of the conversation, but then went about his evening. Shortly thereafter, he returned to find that a crowd had gathered. Not only that, but senators including Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Jeff Merkley stopped by, as well.
6. The person I was trying to meet up with told me he was on the East Capitol steps on the Senate side. I found him, and saw this: http://pic.twitter.com/WkXG5vIWas
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
7. @CoryBooker @SenJeffMerkley @ChrisMurphyCT @SenGillibrand & @brianschatz, five fighters, passing around an iPhone. Whoa! Hi, Senators! http://pic.twitter.com/QYguygJaGJ
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
According to Wikler, the spontaneous gathering allowed people to share their stories and ask questions about the healthcare system. In a tweet, he said it felt "totally real. Organic, spontaneous. Senators kept drifting out. Passers-by kept wandering over and sitting down."
19. People told their stories. A refugee diagnosed with cancer weeks before her graduation, alive now thanks to Medicaid.
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
20. A child of immigrants, born with a rare disease, now healthy and an organizer fighting for justice for all-preexisting conditions or no.
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
21. People asked how they could fight. We shared ways to do it. Come protest at the Capitol this week. Protest at local offices. Make calls.
- Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 27, 2017
"We cannot as individual Americans allow our inability to do everything to undermine our determination to do something."
Ultimately, the impromptu meeting gave everyday people a welcoming setting to engage with politics in a tangible way and share their feelings about the proposal. The livestream lasted nearly four hours and is filled with appearances from entire families, teenagers, activists, and political leaders.
Though many moments are compelling, Booker's closing statement is really worth watching. He ended the gathering by saying: "This is one of those moments in American history that generations to come are going to look back and wonder, where were you? We cannot as individual Americans allow our inability to do everything to undermine our determination to do something - something in the cause of justice and something in the cause of our country." Watch his statement, about three hours and 36 minutes into the livestream, below.
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