A Combination of Things

Thoughts on Barack’s ‘Race’ Speech

First of all, what was up with the guy that introduced Barack? His name was Harris Wofford and he is a prime example of why we shouldnt discount the fact that Barack can make a good speech as a quality we look for in our president. His opening address was so awkward and poorly constructed that it was almost impossible to listen to. I found myself doing work for those couple of minutes to distract myself from its awfulness. I know it isnt the most important thing in the world but if our current president has shown us anything its that if you are an elected official and therefore a public figure you should be able to string two words together and make them make sense. if you cannot you are going to look like a moron. Im not saying Harris Wofford is a moron but he looks like one. George Bush on the other hand is a moron.

The speech:

This was not a leave me alone speech. This was not a ‘please stop calling me names’ speech. This was a speech to reaffirm in the minds of Americans that he is not your normal candidate for president. He wasnt born of the standard mold that the majority of our elected officials come from. He outlined his personal history and the history of race in our country early in this speech and spent the rest of his time tying those facts together beautifully and in a way that was designed to make anyone listening question their part in the past present and future of this country. it wasnt a speech in which Barack went on the defensive trying to provide facts to put the subject of his race and his relationship to his pastor to rest, it was a speech in which he was trying to bring those things to the front of all of consciousness so we might all consider what it means.

The thing i most took away from this speech was a call for unity. a call for the people of the united states to, as he put it, “have a common stake in one another.”

Im at work right now and im trying to put my thoughts together on what i just heard and i have so many emotions about it that im not quite sure how to begin. I guess what i most feel is relief. relief that he didnt take the low road and start calling people out about how people may have wronged him during his campaign. If you dont come away from that speech seriously considering your place in the history of our nation then you either arent listening or you have a lot more work to do regarding yourself and how you regard humanity. he said several times that he is not perfect and that he doesnt expect America to be perfect, not in one election and ultimately not ever when it comes to ones personal feelings about race. but I did get the feeling that while he doesnt expect us to be perfect he at least expects us to make the effort, whites, blacks, latinos and asians to understand where we are all coming from. where black people are coming from, where white people are coming from, where their immigrant ancestors are coming from. he expects us to do the work and consider why we feel the way we do about people that dont look like us. and it may have escaped you while you are reading this but it didnt escape me while i was writing it, he EXPECTS things of us other than that we vote for him. he wants this country to be great and he wants us to reach our full potential as people and as a nation.

im sure all the candidates in some way want this same thing and i dont question their general sincerity but i do question the level of their sincerity. I wonder how much they have actually considered the American people and their emotional intelligence, and how that emotional intelligence compassion, can be even more important than the intelligence that makes us good at math or science or remembering facts and dates, in their desire to be president. im sure some but after todays speech i wonder if they do the same way that Barack does.

Tags: Barack Obama