Obama v.Recount, Democracy v. Thugocracy
by Katrina vanden Heuvel
This Memorial Day Sunday, Barack Obama did what he described as
"pinch-
hitting" for one of his personal heroes, Senator Edward Kennedy.
From
many accounts, Obama's commencement address at Wesleyan College was
rousing and inspiring. The Nation's Katha Pollitt was there and
wrote
on a listserv, "he was really excellent. ... the college opened
graduation to outsiders -- LOTS of people, black and white, came
from
the area to hear him. My daughter, a junior, said she found it
inspiring. she not very political, so that is a high compliment."
What an antidote to Sunday night's HBO special, "Recount" --with
scenes bringing back memories of Florida's slithery Secretary of
State Katherine Harris --and other GOP thugs--stealing away our
democracy. Remember Justice Antonin Scalia's three word sneer, "Get
Over It." Those were words the Justice invoked in defending the
stealing of the 2000 election. So, this May 25th, 2008, we had two
Americas at work: One on our tv screens--a docudrama (more drama
than
docu) about the selection of a President; the other, a real-life
drama with Senator Barack Obama standing in one for one of America's
greatest Senators, speaking to students and calling them, and all of
us, to our better angels, with determined idealism and grounded
pragmatism. You choose. Thugocracy or Democracy.
Here are remarks of Senator Barack Obama
Wesleyan University Commencement
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
Middletown, CT
Thank you, President Roth, for that generous introduction, and
congratulations on your first year at the helm of Wesleyan.
Congratulations also to the class of 2008, and thank you for
allowing
me to be a part of your graduation.
I have the distinct honor today of pinch-hitting for one of my
personal heroes and a hero to this country, Senator Edward Kennedy.
Teddy wanted to be here very much, but as you know, he’s had a
very
long week and is taking some much-needed rest. He called me up a few
days ago and I said that I’d be happy to be his stand-in, even if
there was no way I could fill his shoes.
I did, however, get the chance to glance at the speech he planned on
delivering today, and I’d like to start by passing along a message
from him: “To all those praying for my return to good health, I
offer
my heartfelt thanks. And to any who’d rather have a different
result,
I say, don’t get your hopes up just yet!”
So we know that Ted Kennedy’s legendary sense of humor is as
strong
as ever, and I have no doubt that his equally legendary fighting
spirit will carry him through this latest challenge. He is our
friend, he is our champion, and we hope and pray for his return to
good health.
The topic of his speech today was common for a commencement, but one
that nobody could discuss with more authority or inspiration than
Ted
Kennedy. And that is the topic of service to one’s country – a
cause
that is synonymous with his family’s name and their legacy.
I was born the year that his brother John called a generation of
Americans to ask their country what they could do. And I came of age
at a time when they did it. They were the Peace Corps volunteers who
won a generation of goodwill toward America at a time when
America’s
ideals were challenged. They were the teenagers and college
students,
not much older than you, who watched the Civil Rights Movement
unfold
on their television sets; who saw the dogs and the fire hoses and
the
footage of marchers beaten within an inch or their lives; who knew
it
was probably smarter and safer to stay at home, but still decided to
take those Freedom Rides down south – who still decided to march.
And
because they did, they changed the world.
I bring this up because today, you are about to enter a world that
makes it easy to get caught up in the notion that there are actually
two different stories at work in our lives.
The first is the story of our everyday cares and concerns – the
responsibilities we have to our jobs and our families – the bustle
and busyness of what happens in our own life. And the second is the
story of what happens in the life of our country – of what happens
in
the wider world. It’s the story you see when you catch a glimpse
of
the day’s headlines or turn on the news at night – a story of
big
challenges like war and recession; hunger and climate change;
injustice and inequality. It’s a story that can sometimes seem
distant and separate from our own – a destiny to be shaped by
forces
beyond our control.
And yet, the history of this nation tells us this isn’t so. It
tells
us that we are a people whose destiny has never been written for us,
but by us – by generations of men and women, young and old, who
have
always believed that their story and the American story are not
separate, but shared. And for more than two centuries, they have
served this country in ways that have forever enriched both.
I say this to you as someone who couldn’t be standing here today
if
not for the service of others, and wouldn’t be standing here today
if
not for the purpose that service gave my own life.
You see, I spent much of my childhood adrift. My father left my
mother and I when I was two. When my mother remarried, I lived in
Indonesia for a time, but was mostly raised in Hawaii by her and my
grandparents from Kansas. My teenage years were filled with more
than
the usual dose of adolescent rebellion, and I’ll admit that I
didn’t
always take myself or my studies very seriously. I realize that none
of you can probably relate to this, but there were many times when I
wasn’t sure where I was going, or what I would do.
But during my first two years of college, perhaps because the values
my mother had taught me –hard work, honesty, empathy – had
resurfaced
after a long hibernation; or perhaps because of the example of
wonderful teachers and lasting friends, I began to notice a world
beyond myself. I became active in the movement to oppose the
apartheid regime of South Africa. I began following the debates in
this country about poverty and health care. So that by the time I
graduated from college, I was possessed with a crazy idea – that I
would work at a grassroots level to bring about change.
I wrote letters to every organization in the country I could think
of. And one day, a small group of churches on the South Side of
Chicago offered me a job to come work as a community organizer in
neighborhoods that had been devastated by steel plant closings. My
mother and grandparents wanted me to go to law school. My friends
were applying to jobs on Wall Street. Meanwhile, this organization
offered me $12,000 a year plus $2,000 for an old, beat-up car.
And I said yes.
Now, I didn’t know a soul in Chicago, and I wasn’t sure what
this
community organizing business was all about. I had always been
inspired by stories of the Civil Rights Movement and JFK’s call to
service, but when I got to the South Side, there were no marches,
and
no soaring speeches. In the shadow of an empty steel plant, there
were just a lot of folks who were struggling. And we didn’t get
very
far at first.
I still remember one of the very first meetings we put together to
discuss gang violence with a group of community leaders. We waited
and waited for people to show up, and finally, a group of older
people walked into the hall. And they sat down. And a little old
lady
raised her hand and asked, “Is this where the bingo game is?”
It wasn’t easy, but eventually, we made progress. Day by day,
block
by block, we brought the community together, and registered new
voters, and set up after school programs, and fought for new jobs,
and helped people live lives with some measure of dignity.
But I also began to realize that I wasn’t just helping other
people.
Through service, I found a community that embraced me; citizenship
that was meaningful; the direction I’d been seeking. Through
service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the
larger story of America.
Each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the
years to come. And I say “chance” because you won’t have to
take it.
There’s no community service requirement in the real world; no one
forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage,
and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the
other things that our money culture says you should by. You can
choose to narrow your concerns and live your life in a way that
tries
to keep your story separate from America’s.
But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those
who
are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because
you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do
have that debt.
It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our
individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because
thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and
needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you
hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize
your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing
the
next great chapter in America’s story
There are so many ways to serve and so much need at this defining
moment in our history. You don’t have to be a community organizer
or
do something crazy like run for President. Right here at Wesleyan,
many of you have already volunteered at local schools, contributed
to
United Way, and even started a program that brings fresh produce to
needy families in the area. One hundred and sixty-four graduates of
this school have joined the Peace Corps since 2001, and I’m
especially proud that two of you are about to leave for my
father’s
homeland of Kenya to bring alternative sources of energy to
impoverished areas.
I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here, because
the future of this country – your future – depends on it. At a
time
when our security and moral standing depend on winning hearts and
minds in the forgotten corners of this world, we need more of you to
serve abroad. As President, I intend to grow the Foreign Service,
double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage the young
people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by
side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity.
To read more »go the Wesleyan college website....
