Historic. Meaningful. Endearing.
Those are the words that continuously ran through my mind as I watched the first night of the Democratic National Convention — it was simply riveting.
One of the elements that I most enjoyed was the tribute to Sen. Ted Kennedy, as it brought tears to my eyes in recognition of all of the tremendous things that he and his brothers, John and Bobby did throughout their careers. Kennedy is an extremely passionate man, who has worked tirelessly over the years advocating for important issues to all people, specifically minorities. His belief that health care is a right and not a privilege is deeply rooted and has been at the top of his agenda for nearly all of the 46 years he’s been in office.
One of the things that really impresses me about Kennedy’s strength and humanity other than the fact that he left the hospital to speak at the convention, is his understanding of the necessity of quality health care for all people.
As we know, Kennedy was raised in an affluent household, yet he still after all these years relates to the strife of everyday Americans. His compassion for people and health care are simply astounding, especially considering he’s from a family of such means.
Of course the other highlight of the evening was when presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s wife Michelle spoke. The female Obama spoke candidly about her husband and all he’s accomplished. In addition to her heartfelt speech, she was able to effectively convey emotion — something that this accomplished professional had previously been criticized for.
Obama spoke of the world as it is and the world as it should be.
“You work hard for what you want in life. We have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be,” she said.
The world as it is today compared to the way it should be are starkly different. It’s great to know that the Obamas are able to distinguish the two and work towards a more improved world.
Sen. Obama has had a difficult time securing the vote of many women, particularity since his former opponent Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was so successful with this demographic. It was a very smart move for Obama to mention the 88th anniversary of passage of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote.
The fact that Barack and Michelle came from relatively humble beginnings, yet both worked hard to not only go to college, but THE best Ivy League college in the United States solidifies what MSNBC correspondent Chris Matthews said Monday night: “They worked hard and played by the rules.”
In the Obamas’ attempt to “make it,” they took no hand outs in their pursuit, nor did they take shortcuts. So often Blacks are criticized for wanting something for nothing, or expecting things to be given to them. Matthews was correct when he said that Barack and Michelle did everything that white conservatives want Blacks to do. We all can only imagine the strenuous task of running for president of the United States — there are countless background checks of the candidate, their spouse as well as their extended family. Nothing negative turned up on the Obamas — nothing. How many of us today can say our pasts would be as spotless? I’m never one to play the race card, but we all know that if there was something that was the least bit disconcerting, the media would have exposed it long ago, particularly because Obama is a Black man. I commend the Obamas for their tremendous work ethic years before this presidential campaign was even a thought. America — not just Blacks should be incredibly proud of the Obamas because they successfully obtained the American dream.
I have never been as entrenched in the national political system as I’ve been in the last couple of years. It was such an awesome feeling for me to see some of the older Blacks present at the Democratic National Convention this week. These senior citizens obviously lived through the civil rights era — and I was so happy they were able to experience such a historic moment in our history. Regardless of November’s outcome — they saw something that they probably never believed would be a reality.
