The Speech
Obama's recent speech was a fantastic piece of American politics. It's the type of thing that gives hope to those who find ourselves becoming disaffected and cynical about the political process. Race in this country is a sensitive, nuanced, difficult and pervasive issue that most politicians are content to brush under the rug. It's far too risky to deal with head on. I'm sure Obama would rather have not been forced to make this speech --- it put him in quite a challenging position. But as many great leaders of the past have done, he took a challenge and turned it into a unique opportunity. An opportunity to say something meaningful and potent about America. And he delivered on that opportunity.
What I loved about this speech is that it simply refuses to be reduced to a soundbite. Its genius lies in its entirety, in how he acknowledges and deals with the complex reality of racial issues in America today, and how he uses our nation's history to demonstrate our ability to rise above such petty differences if we so choose. The speech was not only an nuanced and intelligent exposition on race in America, it was a challenge to America to rise above these divisive issues and attempt, in good faith, to talk with each other honestly about the common ground we share.
The pundit reaction has been predictable. They have all been taken with the speech, calling it amazing, brilliant, etc. And then they go back to obsessing about race in politics. It's as if his speech went in one ear and out the other. I hope Americans are better than that. Even if Obama does not win the Presidency, this speech will stand in history as a landmark in race relations in this country.
If you didn't catch the speech, you can see it in it's entirety (40 minutes) here.
Obama's recent speech was a fantastic piece of American politics. It's the type of thing that gives hope to those who find ourselves becoming disaffected and cynical about the political process. Race in this country is a sensitive, nuanced, difficult and pervasive issue that most politicians are content to brush under the rug. It's far too risky to deal with head on. I'm sure Obama would rather have not been forced to make this speech --- it put him in quite a challenging position. But as many great leaders of the past have done, he took a challenge and turned it into a unique opportunity. An opportunity to say something meaningful and potent about America. And he delivered on that opportunity.
What I loved about this speech is that it simply refuses to be reduced to a soundbite. Its genius lies in its entirety, in how he acknowledges and deals with the complex reality of racial issues in America today, and how he uses our nation's history to demonstrate our ability to rise above such petty differences if we so choose. The speech was not only an nuanced and intelligent exposition on race in America, it was a challenge to America to rise above these divisive issues and attempt, in good faith, to talk with each other honestly about the common ground we share.
The pundit reaction has been predictable. They have all been taken with the speech, calling it amazing, brilliant, etc. And then they go back to obsessing about race in politics. It's as if his speech went in one ear and out the other. I hope Americans are better than that. Even if Obama does not win the Presidency, this speech will stand in history as a landmark in race relations in this country.
If you didn't catch the speech, you can see it in it's entirety (40 minutes) here.
Labels: Politics
posted by slithytoves at 7:53 PM
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