Post by david on Nov 9, 2008 12:09:15 GMT -8
From mid-1967 to the Summer of 1968, I was a Vista Volunteer in San Luis, Colorado. My partner Tim and I paid $35 per month for a house on Main Street, which is also the highway between Fort Garland and Taos, New Mexico.
Above my bed, I hung a photo -- cut from the newspaper -- of Bobby Kennedy.
When I learned -- in a Toledo, Ohio coffee shop in June of 1968 -- that Kennedy had been killed, my optimism began to die. Successive nails were driven into the coffin until four years later when America repudiated a good and decent man named George McGovern. I haven't been excited about a presidential candidate since --- not for 36 years; nof for more than half my life; not until this year.
A couple of months ago, just after my 60th birthday -- and more than 40 years after I left San Luis, I printed out two pages of images from the Obama Internet page and posted them on the wall opposite my desk. Two of those were artist's drawings of the candidate with the words "Change" and "Yes We Can" overlaid.
Four hundred years ago European colonists brought slavery to the New World. More than 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers failed, when establishing a new nation, to apply the principles they used to justify the Revolution; instead, they made slavery and racism part of our new Constitution.
Nearly150 years ago our ancestors paid dearly for that mistake and suffered during our nation's most tragic period: the Civil War. Fifty years ago, another generation of patriots set out to erase the stains that still remained in our national fabric -- many, including Dr. King, died in that effort.
But this week -- 400 years after the original sin, 200 years after our founders turned their backs, 150 years after so many died in a struggle that finally set slaves free and 50 years after the great 20th-century crusade began to finish the job -- something happened.
As a result, the most grievously imperfect part of our union has been repaired. Today, every pregnant American woman can confidently say, "MY CHILD may one day become president of the United States."
And today I forgive the Founding Fathers for their failure. We have paid an awful price for their mistake. Though they lacked the courage and strength to fight for equality in the 18th century, they did pay it lip service. The American Creed: "All are created equal", has operated in the background for more than 200 years and though some important vestiges of prejudice and discrimination still remain, the American people finally overruled the Founders and redeemed our nation's promise.
November 4, 2008 is a day that will be remembered. It may rank second only to July 4 which is a day we can now celebrate with a much more clear conscience. America: now featuring liberty and justice for all.
Above my bed, I hung a photo -- cut from the newspaper -- of Bobby Kennedy.
When I learned -- in a Toledo, Ohio coffee shop in June of 1968 -- that Kennedy had been killed, my optimism began to die. Successive nails were driven into the coffin until four years later when America repudiated a good and decent man named George McGovern. I haven't been excited about a presidential candidate since --- not for 36 years; nof for more than half my life; not until this year.
A couple of months ago, just after my 60th birthday -- and more than 40 years after I left San Luis, I printed out two pages of images from the Obama Internet page and posted them on the wall opposite my desk. Two of those were artist's drawings of the candidate with the words "Change" and "Yes We Can" overlaid.
Four hundred years ago European colonists brought slavery to the New World. More than 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers failed, when establishing a new nation, to apply the principles they used to justify the Revolution; instead, they made slavery and racism part of our new Constitution.
Nearly150 years ago our ancestors paid dearly for that mistake and suffered during our nation's most tragic period: the Civil War. Fifty years ago, another generation of patriots set out to erase the stains that still remained in our national fabric -- many, including Dr. King, died in that effort.
But this week -- 400 years after the original sin, 200 years after our founders turned their backs, 150 years after so many died in a struggle that finally set slaves free and 50 years after the great 20th-century crusade began to finish the job -- something happened.
As a result, the most grievously imperfect part of our union has been repaired. Today, every pregnant American woman can confidently say, "MY CHILD may one day become president of the United States."
And today I forgive the Founding Fathers for their failure. We have paid an awful price for their mistake. Though they lacked the courage and strength to fight for equality in the 18th century, they did pay it lip service. The American Creed: "All are created equal", has operated in the background for more than 200 years and though some important vestiges of prejudice and discrimination still remain, the American people finally overruled the Founders and redeemed our nation's promise.
November 4, 2008 is a day that will be remembered. It may rank second only to July 4 which is a day we can now celebrate with a much more clear conscience. America: now featuring liberty and justice for all.