Barack Obama: We Are One

The Democratic National Convention was a banquet of marvelous, inspiring, uplifting speeches by "old" and "new" Democrats alike. Barack Obama, candidate for Senate from Illinois, got the emmy, so to speak, for newcomer of the year. He rose to the podium and delivered a stunning speech. One of the main ideas in his speech, or perhaps THE main idea, was unity in America and in the world. Here are his words:


"Alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga: a belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper—that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. 'E pluribus unum.'Out of many, one."

I pray that Americans will catch this spirit of unity and catch it quickly. The red/blue competition, the liberal/conservative band wagon, and the we/they rhetoric are real stumbling blocks which only have limited use. We may need them to get John Kerry elected, but after the election and John Kerry's inauguration in January 2005, we as Americans must adjust our attitudes anew. We all breathe the same air and inhabit the same planet. Let us move in the direction of that reality. John Kerry is the only candidate who can help us do that. And he will need all of us supporting him to do it.

The incumbent cannot even envision unity. He has created disunity, distrust, and hatred. We cannot afford another term of Bush. Don't even think about it.

[Click on the title above to see the video of Obama's DNC speech.)