I don't post on DU much but read often. I wanted to share this email I sent out to all my friends and family. I normally suffer politics in quiet despeation, but Obama challenged my apathy yesterday.
Also, please, Obama and Hillary supporters: quite the hate! You're on the same side.
Here's the email:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU&eurl=http://pol.moveon.org/obamaspeech/?id=12333-6311050-38wvzT&t=545 Please take some time to watch this entire video. Be prepared as its 37+ minutes long. I also realize some of you have already watched it in full.
All of you understand my deep distrust of the usual suspects in our government: the corporate-packaged politicians with their pearly teeth, practiced handshakes, and pretentious smiles. Their sharp, starched suits, and ingratiating flag lapel pins. And of course the hackneyed rhetoric that passes for patriotism. Yes, this is known all too well by my friends and family. Thinking of this, I really should thank all of you who have suffered my conversations on this topic with patience and politesse. It’s understood that you’ve all made long allowances for my political diatribes and controversial theories in the past. I know it can’t be easy listening to my wild speculations and pessimistic predictions all the time.
But I ask that you indulge me once more. Please, please watch the video in full.
Initially only Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, and Ron Paul appealed to me - due mostly to their populist rhetoric but also to their defense and understanding of the Constitution. I’ll come to Obama soon. None of them seemed outstanding candidates but I was hoping they would do well during the primary (the lesser of 2 evils strategy we all hesitantly adopt). Sadly, the MSM (Mainstream Media for the layman) easily moved these figures to the fringe by noticeably ignoring them during debates, omitting them during Sunday talk shows, and surrogating the substance of their words at every turn with stories about their haircuts (see Edwards) or UFOs (see Kucinich). Yet, I have come to expect this as a common MSM protocol. During the course of the Democratic presidential race I saw so much Clinton and Obama to convince me that the MSM was again choosing our candidates for us. The aforementioned strategies of selection convinced me of Obama’s complicity in the machinery of Beltway politics. I found it hard to believe that our political system could ever introduce any real change (despite my acknowledgement that Obama’s campaign is one of the greatest examples of grassroots politics in history).
Kucinich, as much as I espouse his ideals, unfortunately lacks the charisma and stature to convince enough of the electorate he’s a viable candidate. Clinton and Edwards inclusion as leading members of the corporate-pandering DLC leaves questions of integrity that loom hauntingly over their motivations, and Paul has sadly exhibited philosophies that speak to the baser instincts of racism and bigotry.
Admittedly, I have not strongly gravitated towards any contemporary politician in my lifetime. Paul Wellstone and Russ Feingold were the closest to claiming my devotion and loyalty, but realistically they are all too easily discounted from the Executive Office because of socialist memes, genetic or cultural heritage, etc. Significant leaders, the prominent ones that honestly seek change and refuse to sell-out to the establishment, generally have been silenced through murder, censorship, or libel. I have read about FDR and the New Deal; Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler; the Kennedy Brothers; Martin Luther King and the Poor People’s Campaign; Wellstone and the promises of grassroots politics.
At a time when we look to our government for guidance and hope, during these fearful years of uncertainty and turmoil, most of us find a terrifying vacuum in Washington where morality, compassion, and intellect are wanting. The fact that this notable lack of leadership is glaring in both major parties is a serious and somber testament on the state of our body politic. That ‘body’ has definitely withered from apathy for many, many years and desperately needs a leader to guide its future movement and mores. Alas, we certainly don’t find any viable presidential candidates like JFK, FDR, MLK, or RFK within the Beltway today. Actually, it’s been decades. Well, at least I thought so… until yesterday.
The MSM will certainly claim Obama’s speech in Philadelphia was merely a collection of platitudes. Or that it was simply politically expedient for him to deliver this speech on race because of his controversial minister. They will undoubtedly and decidedly miss the point like they have on Iraq, on the economy, on torture, on domestic surveillance, and the long litany of encroachments upon the Constitution not only by Bush and the GOP, but by many Democrats as well. The machinations of the MSM are predictable and are well illustrated by the tedious coverage of Obama’s relationship to Wright and the vacuous coverage of McCain’s relationship with Hagee. Liberal Media indeed.
Again the MSM will take the low road and intentionally cover this speech only by it’s immediate worth to Obama’s presidential bid. They will dissect its meaning only in terms of its implications to his campaign’s livelihood rather than in terms of it’s implications of his character, courage, and consequently, his presidential credentials. Their hope is to nullify the import and impact of this speech; to cause distraction and dissatisfaction with this candidate; to imperil this campaign and to divide and conquer as usual. But please heed Obama’s words: “Not this time”.
This speech exemplifies all that we need at this moment in history; nay, at any moment in history: honesty, clarity, and leadership. It speaks frankly about a realization and fresh perspective of the past, one that is absolutely necessary to fulfill any hopes we may have for the future. It conveys a willingness to acknowledge fault across the board and to elucidate social complexities that usually escape everyday experience. His ability to finesse these issues with such force of rhetoric while still retaining hope and understanding is truly impressive. It should be noted that it would have been easy for him to sacrifice his long-standing alliances. Yet he spared everyone all the while shredding apart the notion of guilt-by-association. This is something truly unique in today’s political discourse; especially for a Democrat.
I have not heard any other contemporary presidential candidate in the past 40 years able to communicate the subtleties of the American experience as well as Obama or to expound upon our social nuances with such damning transparency. I have never, ever experienced a speech that so closely echoes the monologue of my heart. His words are not mere demagoguery, for such speech is only a guise of hope and is really couched in prejudice and exclusion. I found nothing in Obama’s words that were mendacious. Actually he mouthed candid truths at great risk to his reputation. That is not demagoguery.
Amazingly and unexpectedly, Obama has arrested my inexorable cynicism. I am feeling a change in myself regarding politics that is both unfamiliar and most welcome: hope. His words have impelled me to write to all of you about my change of heart. It is a step that is both cathartic and long overdue for me. And it is something I can no longer ignore. I hope you all feel the same after watching the video.
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