Forwarding the Conversation

Yet another episode of my favorite reality TV show since MTV’s “The Hills.”

Last week, President Obama outlined his agenda to a joint session of Congress. He will tackle green jobs, health care, education, and will slash the budget deficit. I’ve spoken with a number of people who have watched the speech and I’ve heard mixed reviews. Some thought it was too broad, while others thought it was just right. Some said there weren’t enough specifics, while others reported feeling hopeful and inspired by rhetoric.

Whether you thought the speech was effective or not it doesn’t matter. Our new President has outlined a bold agenda for the next four years. I believe that by giving a speech – void of the minutiae – he appealed to our highest ideals. He was saying that we are on a journey for which there is no charted course. He was saying that while we may not know the territory, we do know the destination. Isn’t that what JFK did when he challenged America to land a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s? At the time he had no idea how we would get there, and in 1969 we landed a man on the moon.

Big dreams and high ideals make America great, and Obama’s speech left filled me with hope and optimism. I don’t quite know how we’ll get there, but I know that we will – somehow… someway.

President Barack Obama discusses the recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Much like the Pheonix – today – America rose from the ashes as we swore in a new President. Regardless of what you think of the eight Bush years America was – and is – ready for change. Bush’s approval ratings are some of the lowest of any outgoing President – ever. Congress also has a low approval rating right now in the wake of blatant scandal, atrophy, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Today, with the swearing in of our 44th President – Barack Hussein Obama – Americans will finally have the opportunity to see hope and change in action. Throughout the entire day I’ve been hearing from the news, internet, blogs, etc about the historic significance of this event. Yesterday I blogged about my take on the historic context of today’s inauguration. In this entry I don’t want to focus on the historic significance of the event, rather I want talk about the significance of President Obama’s words.

President Obama’s twenty-minute address touched on a series of issues and clearly defined where our new President stands on the greatest issues facing us today. No, he did not lay out any specific policy perscriptions; what he did was attempt to transfer – to us – his vision of America. This speech was the culmination of important moments in his career dating back to when he first stole the spotlight at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  In that speech Obama painted his worldview with broad brushstrokes – showing us that he believed in an untapped spirit of possibility and unity that was dormant at the time. In his “Yes We Can” speech he forecefully proclaimed that America was indeed ready to elect an African American President. At the nominating convention Obama cooly stared into the television cameras as he boldly invited his Republican counterpart to bring it on.

Today President Obama told us a little bit more about his vision of America. In the speech he challenged each of us to assume responsibility not just for ourselves but for each other and for the rest of the world. Obama appears to believe that what makes America special is our sense of shared purpose and faith in American ideals. To me, the most telling words of the morning came when Obama quoted George Washington:

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:’Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive … that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].’

This speech indicates to me that Obama believes that in the depths of winter that we will move forward – as one nation – with a common purpose to preserve freedom and opportunity for all. Obama goes on to finish his inaugural by saying:

In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Obama’s words are significant because they represent a call for renewal.  In order to answer this call each of us must act – in our own way – to brave the icy currents of history by hobbling towards the ideals of freedom and equality of opportunity. We may never get there, but each step we take in that direction moves us closer to that ultimate vision that Jefferson glimpsed when he wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

Below you will find Obama’s inaugural address in its entirety. Click here for the transcript.

Last week, in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hosted the Governors’ Global Climate Summit. The purpose of the summit is twofold:

The first is to facilitate a high-level meeting between governmental “climate leaders” and to conclude a cooperative Summit Declaration on climate solutions (such as the examples described above). The second is to discuss the outlook for a comprehensive global agreement on climate solutions that prevents the world passing the “tipping point” as described by the IPCC. 

To learn more about the summit click here and to watch videos of all the activities click here. Below you will find a pre-recorded address from President-Elect Obama to the summit attendees.

Here are some questions to chew on as you watch the video:

• What is it going to take for the entire world to begin moving in the same direction on the issue of global climate change?
• What sacrifices are each of us going to have to make in order to ensure that we preserve our planet?
• How can each of us do to make sure our leaders take the issue of climate change seriously?

Absent a fireplace and FDR, Barack Obama delivered his first YouTube “fireside chat” where he outlined his plan for rebuilding the economy. This is important because it sets the bar at a new level for how elected officials use the internet to strengthen our democracy.

The question coming out of this is simple: does this simple video signal an era of open government? Express your opinion by voting in the poll and then watch Obama’s video below. You can also find it at www.change.gov.

Watch the FULL Obama Infomercial here. Please leave a comment to answer the question:

What, if anything, about the ad connected or resonated with you?

Below you will find Colin Powell’s endorsement of Senator Obama. I post this video not because of the endorsement itself but because of Powell’s words leading up to the endorsement. In his preamble Powell speaks of the Country that America must be moving into the 21st century. He speaks of an inclusive nation that does not use the words “Muslim” or “Arab” as four-letter words. He speaks of a nation whose guiding principles were forged in the fires of persecution and turmoil:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In an election cycle where patriotism has become a divisive term Powell taps into that Patriotic Spirit from which our Nation was founded.  Why shouldn’t a seven-year old Muslim boy or girl dream of being President of the United States he asks. To me, there’s nothing more Pro-American than that.

Read more…

Below are two videos and a newspaper article. The two videos have been produced on behalf of the two Presidential candidates. The first video criticizes Barack Obama for calling the war in Iraq a mistake. The second is a music video created from the Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech. The newspaper article is a New York Times op-ed written by Thomas Friedman. The article speaks to Governor Sarah Palin’s comments about Joe Biden who said that paying taxes is patriotic.  I am sure many of you have already seen or read these videos and article, but take a look at them again and think about them in the context of the following questions.

Please feel free to leave comments.

1. How does patriotism relate to freedom and vice versa?
2. What is freedom?
3. What does Senator Obama’s assertion that the Iraq War was a mistake say about his principles?
4. What does Senator Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech say about Freedom?
5. What role does patriotism play in politics?
6. What does it mean to be patriotic?