(Memorial Day Cont.) Yet one of the intriguing things I encountered was due to my seating specifically. There was a maximum of 50 people on the enormous terrace and all of them were there due to the fact that they were even political staffers or large donors. Their reactions to the concert were radically different than those on the lawn. They brought coolers full of food and drinks and were solely there as a social event. When the crowd on the lawn would stand it would take a solid amount of time for those on the terrace to do the same. Some wouldn’t even stop from their conversation and would just remain sitting and ignore the events going on around them. The divide between the groups was stark and noticeable. Those on the terrace hadn’t had to save money to travel to the concert or fight for a place on a lawn, they were personally invited. They were very aware of their privilege and almost cocky about it. I couldn’t understand how they could be so untouched by the stories and the hardships that veterans have faced.
The whole experience was very eye-opening for me. I would never say I am overly patriotic nor would I like to think that I am susceptible to having my thoughts set by those presenting the information. Yet after this event I definitely realized we are all at least slightly susceptible and if you have grown up in the U.S. and know nothing else, you are bound to be at least a little patriotic. We may not be aware of the opinions we have, maybe we all subconsciously hold beliefs that are unknown to us until we see something that “activates” them. Everyone likes to believe that they are fully aware of themselves, but maybe nothing is farther from the truth.