Four days later, it is still a bit difficult to know where to start. The experience of Thursday was visceral rather than intellectual. I have since tried to make some logical sense of the evening and my reactions, but even though the event FEELS of a piece to me emotionally, I can’t find a way to describe it as a narrative. So here are some individual impressions I have been able to verbalize.Make no mistake, there was a “party” atmosphere here. Pun intended. There was a lot of music Thursday and with happy Democrats, that meant a lot of dancing. One of the Georgia delegation’s favorite moments was Shirley Franklin dancing with Calvin Smyre in the aisle between Georgia and Ohio.
When we first got there, the crowd was thin, but there were what looked like miles of people streaming in over a bridge leading towards the stadium. Parking was severely limited, so people had to park far away and walk. Throughout the afternoon, the stadium steadily filled in – it was amazing to watch the mass of humanity assembled for a political speech.The day itself was drop-dead gorgeous. There was literally “not a cloud in the sky.” Which we all got a kick out of once the rumor started circulating that the Family Research Council had been praying for months for our event to be rained out.
I went to get pizza with my friend Page at one point. All the lines were packed and we waited and waited. In the first line, they ran out of pizza so we all had to run to the next pizza line. We were almost to the front of that line when we heard again that they were sold out. Just then, a young man, about 20, ran up to us with some cash in his hand and explained that he was a “runner” for Fox News and he needed to get them some pizza – did we mind if he broke in line? “They are out of pizza,” I told him, “and….yeah…Fox News. You’re probably not going to get much sympathy at the *Democratic* National Convention.” He just looked a little sheepish and ran away. I looked around at the others in line. “Had to be said.”
My thoughts about the speech itself. It was brilliant. He used memorable rhetorical devices, often turning the catch phrases of the opposition on their heads, “the ownership society means – you’re on your own… It’s time for them to own their failure.” He also debunked some of the Republican mythology that seeks to convince voters that Democrats don’t value or don’t understand the market, the proper role of government, etc:
"It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work."
He avoided the old Democratic trap, even under pressure from the pundits, of reeling off policy positions and getting deep in the weeds. He spoke of specific goals, but always in terms of our common American values. He covered his tax priorities, his energy goals, his education goals, his health care approach, and his foreign policy approach. All the while contrasting his policies with those of Bush/McCain.
He touched on his recurrent theme that government won’t solve all our society’s problems and that we need to renew our own sense of personal responsibility to our families and communities. He outlined how he would pay for his proposals, and made a commitment to rooting out waste and inefficiency in our federal bureaucracy, again using vivid language, “because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.”
He was strong as he outlined his foreign policy approach, again emphasizing the contrast between himself and McCain:
"You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home."
He also foresaw and addressed a familiar McCain and general Republican attack line – that Barack Obama in particular and the Democrats in general aren’t sufficiently patriotic. He pledged not to fall into this particular gutter and stipulated that McCain and the Republicans love their country, too.
"But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America."
And in a powerful applause line that foresaw the “theme” of the Republican National Convention (“Country First”) he said, "So I've got news for you, John McCain. We *all* put our country first."
He even had a response to “Gays, God, and Guns” outlining the areas of agreement and cooperation that exist between the parties even on the most divisive issues and proclaiming that we must not make a big election about small things.
And after all this, he pivoted back to his unmatched, stunning rhetoric, painting a picture of America as it has been, as it is, and as it always will be, saying, “it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.”
After the speech was over and his family and running mate came out on stage to greet the crowds, the physical environment was nearly overwhelming. The music and the confetti and the fireworks, just like on the Fouth of July these were metaphors for patriotism, righteousness, celebration, and joy. I was trying to take pictures as if my camera or any camera could capture that moment.None of us really wanted to leave. We stayed, watching the last of the confetti drift around the perfect evening, watching a group of streamers that got caught on the skycam blowing in the breeze, watching television reporters giving their wrap-up reports in colorful suits and running shoes. One woman said to me, “this was so special, so historic. The only thing I have seen to match it was being at the March on Washington.” Which got me thinking about the history of the moment in terms of the Civil Rights Movement.
The battles of the Civil Rights Movement were, and are, critical to African Americans in very real terms of stretching horizons – making the opportunities of citizenship in our country real to them and their families. The progress has meant freedom from violence and freedom to participate in civic life. To white Americans, I had perhaps formerly thought that the victories of the Civil Rights Movement were more abstract. All people of any color who value social justice, fairness, and peace celebrate the progress in our country in the past fifty years. But tonight, a much more tangible benefit has become obvious. In an unequal, segregated society, we rob ourselves and our communities of the gifts and talents inborn in every child of God. Without the Civil Rights Movement, our country would not have recognized and elevated the amazing intellect and leadership of Barack Obama. Which would be a shame indeed.
And then again, back to thinking about the Civil Rights Movement in a more abstract fashion, the Movement was and is a brilliant metaphor for the larger human struggle to create the kingdom of God on earth: “on earth as it is in heaven.” The injustice is perceived by individuals as physical and emotional blows, denial of access to education and opportunity. And collectively, the injustice separates us from the beloved community. Therefore, while Barack Obama represents a massive milestone in a specific 50-year long struggle in our country, he is also a symbol for all of us testifying to our ability as a human family to walk, imperfectly, toward a higher state of being.
Still looking around, I saw two very young women. White, college age. They were hugging each other and sobbing earnestly. While it was easy to understand the tears of older African Americans, who had experienced decades of struggle and two steps forward, one step back progress, what was the explanation for this weeping? What was the explanation for my own? I am sure John McCain would cynically call it part of the shallow celebrity worship he sees. But that’s so unlikely, given the substance of the evening – a speech about policy and history not a rock concert! And I also don’t know if I quite buy into the idea that the Obama campaign is a “movement” though I am sure it feels like that to some participants. Rather, I think that Obama has tapped into something deep and old. It’s an instinctive optimism, definitely American, but probably bigger than that. It’s a primal knowledge of the world as it should be. And an awareness that we in the United States have it in our power to achieve that world in a way that perhaps no other country in the world ever has. He is tapping into the grief that we have not achieved it and the hope against hope that it’s not too late.
At the end of his speech, Obama invoked the anniversary of the I Have a Dream speech. And what he said was, in his singular way, just perfect.
"And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one."
What Barack reminded us is that in a time of deep division, our most heroic people turn from the anger and toward unity.
This campaign season, many of my good friends were reluctant at first to support Obama because, in essence, they were still too angry for his “post-partisanship.” After the incredible wounds inflicted by the Bush administration and Republicans in general over the last eight years, wounds to the Constitution, our institutions, our economy, our sense of civic unity and purpose, wounds to the city of New Orleans, wounds to our international alliances, our international standing, wounds to our soldiers, wounds to civilians in Iraq and elsewhere – after all these wounds, people were too angry to just forgive and move on. And believe me, I understand the anger.
But what Barack reminded us was that 45 years ago, the people gathered to hear that speech had reason to be angry, too. The persecution, the segregation, the limiting of travel, opportunity, education, the scorn, the violence, the threats, the lynchings, the dogs, the firehoses. Yes, as Barack said, they could have heard words of anger and discord. They would have been justified.
But instead, Dr King and Senator Obama both chose the path of non-violence. They chose to look higher, towards a vision of unity rather than division. They knew, and they told us, that our paths lie together, and that anger and revenge are destructive in the end. They diminish rather than deliver those who act on those emotions.
I have heard the question asked, “is he too good to be true?” And I think about what he said in his speech, “What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.” It’s not about whether he’s too good to be true because it’s not about him. John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were imperfect men. But that didn’t stop them from inspiring others to be their best, to do their best. To be better than they ever imagined they could be. Like you most brilliant teacher, he will set a high bar and do everything he can to help us achieve it. But in the end, it is the student, not the teacher, who takes the test. So the question may be, are WE good enough? Are we up to the challenge? Senator Barack Obama clearly believes we are.
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