August 18, 1968
by Janine Stephenson
Ron told me very quietly yesterday that if I was still afraid of flying, then we should arrange to drive to Chicago first thing tomorrow morning. The Senator will be arriving within a day or two and we need to get everything set up for him right away. I thought: Hallelujah! We can all finally leave this awful city. I was only too happy to track Craig and Becca down to give them the good news.
Craig agreed that we needed to leave sooner rather than later. He dropped us off at his room so Becca could get stuff. Then we went to my room so we could do the same. Becca kept grabbing clothes out of the drawers and throwing them into my suitcase. I asked her nicely if she would mind folding them. After all, I folded her clothes when I helped her pack. It's the least she could do. She apologized and said that she was just as anxious to leave as I was, but not nearly as neat about it.
Both Becca and Craig grabbed my suitcase while I stood there for a moment, thinking about Baby John. It made me really sad to think of him being outside the convention with the rest of the others. He worked just as hard as the rest of us, but Craig said it was his choice. In a way, none of us could blame him. Everyone thinks that this may be one of the most important elections in history. It may even be the last real election. America can't continue this way. Everyone feels that this is an ending, but what's really spooky is that no one senses a beginning.
Maybe humans aren't equipped to handle freedom. When they get it, they do stupid things with it. Things that aren't relevant to anyone but themselves. I've wondered that for a while, and it's terrible to think that way. I don't want it to be true. Ron says that our main problem is that Americans don't know what it means to be an American. They think they do, but they really don't. Since they have no identity, they're easily manipulated by anyone they deem trustworthy. The myth of America isn't really true, and people don't want to listen to us.
The campaign has tried to focus on solutions, ways that the myth could become a reality. But because people don't see that there's a problem, it's only going to get worse. America is sick, and maybe it's not going to ever get better again.
