"I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this powerful entry on your blog!
This is just one of many powerful elements in the speech Senator Obama gave yesterday. I agree with David Gergen who said this speech is significantly important enough to rank among the very best speeches ever given by an American President, including J.F. Kennedy, F.D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
It matches the eloquence and compelling inspiration of M.L. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
It should be noted that Mr. Obama wrote it himself! It came from his heart and flows from his own life's experiences.
Mr. Obama is showing all of us that he is able to stand up to attacks from all sides, flowing from the continual 24/7 looping by CNN and other networks of carefully selected snippets of Rev. Wright's tirade. More than that, Mr. Obama has transcended the attacks instead of responding in kind. He is asking the nation to engage in an ongoing adult dialogue about racism and it's effect on our society.
He is appealing to each of us, by his own example, to examine deeply, our own biases and to work from our better nature toward a national reconciliation that includes everyone. He believes, correctly, that this is an absolutely necessary evolution if our nation is truly to provide equal opportunity for all and realize important gains in becoming a more perfect union.
This idea is embedded in the US Constitution. It is in our National DNA.
It is my fervent hope and prayer that Mr. Obama will be elected our next President. Like another young man from Illinois who became our President by the name of Abraham, Mr. Obama has the moral and intellectual "right stuff" to lead this nation through any national and international challenges we will face in the near future. We need his courage, his natural good will, his intellect and his honesty. His compelling openess will be refreshing to all of us.
Importantly, President Obama can restore the role of the American Presidency to one of prestige and respect in the international arena. That is a very significant requirement in this increasingly global community!
Patrick, I commend you for having the courage to put this entry into your blog and thus encourage everyone who reads it to carefully and thoughtfully consider the choice each of us will make at the ballot box in November.
As always, you have my respect and my admiration....Dad.