Yesterday I saw John Edwards speak at Howard University in Washington DC as part of his college tour, so yesterday was a good day! I got there early enough to sit in the third row in the center, so I got some good videos of the event, considering I'm using my tiny digital camera. (Definitely not a professional video set up.)
John spoke for about 25 minutes about our leadership in the world, the example we set at home, climate change, health care, poverty, and education. Then he took questions from the audience.
I've been a fan for a long time, so I feel quite familiar with most of his positions on the issues. Most of it was the same old amazingly inspiring and revelatory, life-changing excitement, if one can ever describe JRE's standard fare as "same old." There were a few new twists, though.
JRE started off by speaking about how America is now seen through the eyes of the world and why it's so important that we change that perception. (Click here for the video.)
He then turned his focus to the example we set for the rest of the world by what we do at home and how we address the problems in our own country. (Click here for part 2.)
Later, he spent some time on the issue of poverty and some ideas for solutions. He also spoke about the ability for young people to create real change and the importance of getting involved. (Click here for part 3.)
I encourage you to look at all the videos. Yes, most of this is old news to me, but it's wonderful, and if you're not familiar with John Edwards' take on the issues, you really should see this. After all, I went to see him again even though I knew most of what he would probably say. That should tell you something about how different from normal politics this really is!
The pieces of the discussion that were new to me all came during the audience question period.
The first person to ask a question was from a climate change organization. She thanked JRE for pledging to make his campaign carbon neutral and for being out front on the issue of global warming. She asked him whether he would commit to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, a step which she described as the only scientifically viable way to solve the problem. His one word answer: "Yes!"
In this part of the video, he also gives an extensive answer to a question about public school education.
Another audience member asked about the recent lawsuit by Viacom against YouTube for copyright infringement, and asked about how we can protect alternatives to the mainstream media. John gave a good answer, speaking about how net neutrality, vigilance against media consolidation, and the ability of average people to have their voices heard on the internet are all vitally important for democracy.
Finally, someone asked about his health care plan, which JRE was happy to "bore" us on. (Click here.)
Well, I can tell you, I never get tired of hearing John Edwards' ideas. He really is inspiring and refreshing. It's just so good to hear someone speak the truth and not dance around the issues!
In the interest of shorter videos on specific topics, I made a few issue-oriented excerpt videos. These consolidate what he said in his speech with the questions asked by the audience and his answers. They are on the same four topics that the audience members asked about.
On climate change
On education
On media issues
On health care
Cross-posted from blog.johnedwards.com/user/sirius