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but that shit gives me chills. Seriously. (in a good way!)
"No ... human ... would stack books like this."
by socratic on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:04:35 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
look when I wrote it...no suprise it was largely ignored.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Read the Epilogue of Audacity of Hope. The answer is in there.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:07:27 PM PDT
I long for a future in which skin pigment, cheekbones, and genitals are not valid selectors for picking our leaders. Barack Obama represents the closing of a chapter ... and the beginning of another one. Our ills will not be cured if he is fortunate enough to take the greatest leadership oath in our country, but we will at least know that the disease can be cured.
by socratic on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:12:06 PM PDT
and a great deal of hypocrisy, but it is also a place filled with immense and unrealized promise.
The world is watching us.
The last time I was in Philadelphia, I took the time to go down to Ben Franklin's grave and throw penny on the flat tombstone and crossed my fingers for Barack Obama's presidenial run.
That was in 2007.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:17:07 PM PDT
that America is a land of tremendous realized promise too. Look where we are today. I mean, it took us a bloody long time to get here, but we do have a lot to be proud of as a country. We've got a long way to go yet, but we're a land that can change, and that's something that a lot of nations don't share.
by socratic on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:19:20 PM PDT
realize is that there are several revolutionary moments in our history that have each advanced the ideals upon which this nation was founded more rapidly than others.
We will remember 2009 in this nation like we remember 1776 and 1865.
THAT is how important this election is.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:28:55 PM PDT
and we're privileged to have a front-row seat.
I hope that my kids will look back and ask me, "What was the big deal with electing a black guy, dad?" just so I can explain to them what it means. And I hope we'll add a woman to the gallery of presidential portraits soon. And a Latino. And an Asian. And all the other flavors that make our country great. If we keep up the pressure, this entire century could be revolutionary.
And not just in presidential politics. Health care. Poverty. The environment. These are all problems that need to be solved now, and we have to be the ones to fight.
by socratic on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:32:52 PM PDT
Funny how stand in the morass of what may be one of this nation's most shameful and humiliating moments, yet right across the threshold stands our way out.
Will we take it?
If we don't you and I will never see such a moment again, I can promise you that much.
But, others will.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:38:13 PM PDT
Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial.
At first I was really sad for my country seeing these reminders of power gone mad. But standing next to Lincoln I remembered we have been down this road before and we can, once again, have a better America.
Will we ever learn?
If we cannot elect this man, we don't deserve him.
by lisastar on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:25:13 PM PDT
this nation would have become a very different place. It was a century before the failures of Reconstruction were addressed by the Civil Rights Movement.
We are all, right at this very moment, participating in the final work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Jefferson.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:32:22 PM PDT
The earth was fresh on RFK's grave, I remember JFK's eternal flame, and the little white crosses that went forever in all directions.
It was in the worst of Vietnam and I remember sitting on the ground, looking at Bobby's grave and sobbing. My parents were embarrassed and kept pulling my arm, trying to make me go.
Not long after was the convention of '68 and they watched it on their TV in their apt. in Alexandria Virginia. Prior to that convention they didn't understand why I was a crazy hippie after they saw the blood in the streets they changed.
Edwards Democrat voting for Obama would like to remind you, "Concentration Moon, over the camp in the valley" Frank Zappa knew.
by high uintas on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:39:29 PM PDT
That's him on his first visit to the US after the revolution, in January 1959.
The Cuban leader published an essay last Sunday, in which he criticized U. S. foreign policy and Geroge W. Bush. Nothing much new there. However, my eyes were immediately drawn to his comments about Abraham Lincoln. He praised Lincoln for not only taking a strong stand against slavery, but for abolishing it in America. He wrote that Lincoln was devoted "to the just idea that all citizens are born free and equal." Castro went on to proclaim, "Long Live Lincoln!"
The Cuban leader published an essay last Sunday, in which he criticized U. S. foreign policy and Geroge W. Bush. Nothing much new there. However, my eyes were immediately drawn to his comments about Abraham Lincoln.
He praised Lincoln for not only taking a strong stand against slavery, but for abolishing it in America. He wrote that Lincoln was devoted "to the just idea that all citizens are born free and equal."
Castro went on to proclaim, "Long Live Lincoln!"
And that's Castro in October, 2007. (Thanks to: http://lincolnstudies.blogspot.com/...)
"The way to win a Presidential race against the Republicans is to develop the class warfare issue..." Lee Atwater, Bush `88 campaign manager.
by aufklaerer on Thu May 15, 2008 at 02:44:29 AM PDT
and foresight.
by lisastar on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:21:25 PM PDT
by audiored on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:25:10 PM PDT
It must be something going around, because earlier this week it suddenly really hit me: we're going to have a new Democratic President, someone who respects the law, cares about the average citizen, and who will fill the positions of government from the ranks of all the wonderful Democrats who themselves campaigned for President this season and those who have worked so tirelessly to get a Democrat elected. I knew that a while ago, but the true reality of it suddenly hit, if you know what I mean. I was really affected. A long-time dream come true.
And now one of those Democrats has moved that reality forward by endorsing our soon-to-be nominee. It was indeed a historic moment. I was an Edwards supporter until he withdrew and it was so wonderful to hear him speak again, and to see him on the stage with Obama. And, although I have fought against her nomination, I was so happy to hear his positive words about Clinton. We're going to need to mend our Democratic fences, and I'm glad Edwards was so gracious (I wouldn't have expected anything else from him) and hope others will follow his lead.
At any rate, your diary was really special, David, and I'm surprised it didn't get more attention. With all the activity of the primary season around here, I guess it's too easy for good diaries to sometimes be overlooked. I really enjoyed reading it; it was moving. Thank you.
"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." - Barack Obama
by Wordie on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:55:18 PM PDT
to remember what it is we are actually trying to do.
You...me...all of us who supported this campaign are as important as those "Sons of Liberty" whose ghosts still haunt Boston.
We are in the midst of a revolution...it may not seem like it to you now, but in the years to come, historians (like myself) will record it in such terms.
The 19th century ended in 1914...with the guns of August.
The 20th century will end in 2009, with the innaguration of Barack Obama. Not of American history--of global history.
by David Kroning on Wed May 14, 2008 at 08:16:49 PM PDT
I am 56 years old and I have never seen anything like this.
I am now certain that Obama will win in November (but we must continue to work and contribute).
I grew up in GA, went to college in NC (Wake Forest) and I live in IN. The results in IN and NC removed all doubt for me. It's really going to happen and it means so much.
Thanks for your diary. So many good ones get lost in the flood. You write exceptionally well.
"Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America." --Dwight Eisenhower
by Dragon5616 on Wed May 14, 2008 at 08:48:26 PM PDT
wide narrow
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