Posted on Saturday, 30th August 2008 by Maritzia
The Democratic National Convention of 2008 is over. We heard some great speeches, and I’d like to share with you some of the information and language that I found personally inspiring over the week. If you haven’t already watched these speeches, follow the links to them on YouTube. It’s well worth the time. Note: My commentary is in italics.
Michelle Obama talking about her father and his struggle to keep working with MS and her mother carrying on after he passed away in his 50s. My father died of cancer at 57, so her story especially touched me. I know what it’s like to watch a parent struggle to keep going, to help care for them when they can’t keep going any more, and the strange mixture of emotions when they pass away. Grief at their passing, relief that they are no long in pain, the feeling of being at loose ends because suddenly they aren’t there to take care of any more, and the guilt at picking up the reins of your life again.
Jesse Jackson Jr. said, “I know that while America may not be perfect, our union can always be perfected.” Remember, dissent is the highest form of patriotism, in my very humble opinion. Agreeing with the status quo is easy. But standing up for what you believe in against that status quo take real courage.
Hillary Clinton in her great speech reminding her followers why we are all democrats.
- “No way. No how. No McCain.”
- “Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation’s history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.”
- “Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about “We the people” not “We the favored few.”
- “This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up. How do we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker , a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice. If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they’re shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
Bill Clinton’s speech was absolutely masterful. He reminded me why I voted for him in the first place.
- “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power. “ A lesson learned from early childhood was if you’re going to talk the talk, you’d best be walking the walk. I had one fabulous pastor as a Southern Baptist youth (hey, Baptists aren’t all bad). He always told us that the best way to evangelize was with the example of our lives. I still believe that. We must be the change we want in the world.
- “They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let’s send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm.”
- “His life is a 21st Century incarnation of the American Dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the “more perfect union” of our founders’ dreams. The values of freedom and equal opportunity which have given him his historic chance will drive him as president to give all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, their chance to build a decent life, and to show our humanity, as well as our strength, to the world. “
Dennis Kucinich….oh what the heck, just go watch the whole darn thing. It’s only about 8 minutes and well worth the watch, because…well…it’s Dennis Kucinich and he gives a hell of a speech. If it doesn’t make you want to run out and vote, then nothing will, although my husband said he moves too much like Ed Sullivan for him to take him seriously, but then, he’s a Canadian (my husband, not Ed or Dennis).
And then there’s Al Gore. Good Goddess, I love that man.
- “One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course. It’s not a guarantee; it’s only an opportunity. The question facing us, simply put, is will we seize this opportunity for change?”
- “Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas Edison, our most famous inventor, said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!” he continued. “I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” *laughs* I wonder what Thomas Edison would be saying today, folks.
- “When as many as three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias and Thomases and end a woman’s right to choose, it is time for a change.”
- “His life experience embodies the essence of our motto — e pluribus unum — out of many, one. That is the linking identity at the other end of all the hyphens that pervade our modern political culture. It is that common American identity — which Barack Obama exemplifies, heart and soul — that enables us as Americans to speak with moral authority to all of the peoples of the world to inspire hope that we as human beings can transcend our limitations to redeem the promise of human freedom.” Yes! This is the perfect embodiment of the Democratic Party. We by no means walk lock step in our beliefs. Our members stand everywhere from the very far left to centrist bordering on right. But that does not mean we cannot and will not come together for the good of our county. Out of our many, divergent views on political issues can and will come a unified groundswell of support for the change our country so desperately need.
- “As we bow in reverence, remember the words of the old proverb: “When you pray, move your feet.”
OK, this post is already hideously long. I will continue with Biden’s and Obama’s speeches in another post.
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