The speeches of Day Three's DNC were good. Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden, and John Kerry did well at setting the stage for Barack Obama. But, it's time for some "fighting words." As a registered Independent, who has consistently voted Democrat in presidential elections (voted for Ralph Nader in '04), I grow weary of Democratic candidates taking the high road...especially when more aggressive speech is appropriate.
People are hurting! ...and we have been hurting for the last eight years. I moved to Washington, D.C. in the Fall of 2001 (at the age of 23) to pursue graduate education in the Nation's Capital. The attacks of September 11th occured one month after I moved to the city. From that time until now, I have lived on meager income...and struggled with poverty. Of course, most of that time I was in graduate school...but in the two years since I finished my graduate education, decent salaries and healthcare have still been hard to come by.
Now, consider this, I have more education than most people on the job market, and yet I've endured (and am still enduring) tough times in the job market. I can only imagine what those with less than me are experiencing. It truly baffles me. Truly. What is a person supposed to do to survive? ...and that's a particularly sad question, because aren't we supposed to be more concerned with THRIVING? But, instead, we concentrating on SURVIVING. ...and it goes beyond John McCain's housing lapse. Because you know that Bush and Cheney...and all the other cronies have made just as much money over the last eight years through manipulating the system to their favor. It is a tragic situation...that continually breeds frustration, distrust in government, animosity, and apathy among the masses.
These feelings are very real to the majority of Americans. So, Democrats, SAY THAT...and you don't have to be so polite about expressing this sentiment, either. You do not want "regular folk" to miss your point. Trust me, if you can connect with Americans on these real issues...then the White House will be yours. Make it plain! We have been duped by Bush-McCain Republicans...we have manipulated by color-coded terror alerts...we have been misled into supporting wars of "profit for the few"...we have been prostituted...we have been lied to...we have been abused....we have been incarcerated...we have been cheated out of the wealth that America has gained. Make it plain! Make it plain! Make it plain!
Barack, assume the position of the warrior...and we will fight to get you to the White House...and keep you there! Assume the position of the triumphant Muhammad Ali poster that hangs behind your Senate office desk! Assume the position of the President who will aggressively shape America into the country that is SHOULD be instead of the place that it is. We have too hungry to accpet anything less.
God Bless....
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Dr. Durham! Great piece, man. I am definitely feeling you on the issue of sharpening and intensifying the political message, however, my concern is that it (i.e. the political banter) will just pan out to have been words after the election dust settles.
At the risk of sounding fatalistic, I am experiencing a growing sense that both mainstream political parties are two sides of the same coin and if not the same coin then at least two nearly identical ones.
You mentioned that you voted for Nader in a past presidential election, so I presume that you are well aware of the dissonance between what the mainstream corporate politicians say and what they ultimately end up doing. The Power Structure has long proven that it can tolerate "hopeful" words of revolution devoid of any intent to act upon them.
It is that reality that has prompted me to not just vote for who has the best chance of winning or not just vote for the lesser of two evils (or the evil of two lessers depending on who you ask). I'd rather vote my principles and if that means voting for a third party candidate then so be it. Don't the American people lose out in every national election because they don't vote their values - rather they vote the values imposed upon them by the fourth branch of the government - mainstream media.
The argument of the "average person" as you so eloquently laid out, better aligns with the values of non-corporatized political parties and if all of us vote our true values then we shouldn't be surprised if our aspirations lead us to a political platform and a candidate that is not sponsored by Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, or Walmart.
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