Day One of the Democratic Convention: Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Protestors, and What It Means to be a Democracy

There are two stages at the Democratic Convention in Denver, one that is played out in streets and the other inside the Pepsi center. Both dramas portray, as no political science textbook could, what it means to live in a democracy.

Outside the convention center I walked past a dozen young people waving blue and white John McCain signs. Every few minutes they would break into a vigorous chant: "Drill here, drill now!"

Near by another group held signs that said, "Save the environment, tax meat!"

A lone man, well dressed, wearing a hat, held up a hand-made sign on a street corner. It simply said, "Stop Torture."

The entrance to the University club, where a group of feminist pro-choice organisations held a rally, was partially blocked by an impassioned group of Right to Life protestors. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) later referred to them from the podium, noting that she was asked if she needed an escort to get by them. She retorted , "I don't need an escort, let them look out for me."

No protest permits required What would the Chinese think?

Buttons, hats, t-shirts , trinkets of all kinds turned the walk to the convention into a political bazar. I wore a red one that said in big white letters, "Hillary supports Obama and so do I!" The button that touched me the most had a family portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama and their children, with the words "The First Family."

The drama inside the Pepsi Center was created by a glimpse into the past, provided by Senator Ted Kennedy and another into the future, through the words of Michelle Obama. A tribute to Kennedy was on the agenda, but no one was certain that he would actually make an appearance until Caroline Kennedy introduced " Uncle Ted."

He came on stage fighting, not only for his life, but also for his long held beliefs. "Nothing is gong to keep me away," he shouted," from the fight to change this country." His voice was strong, but as I listened closely, I could hear an occasional crack. He said "this was the cause of my life," and concluded "Hope has risen again; the dream lives on." It was a bitter sweet moment, as we cheered wildly, trying to drown out the sound of our fear.

The blue and white slender signs, that spelled "Michelle" stapled to long sticks, were given out minutes before her appearance. When she stepped on stage, they pumped into the air. She gave a stunning speech, talking of her childhood, her education, and most movingly, of her children and her love for her husband. I watched the faces of the African American women and men who sat near me and tried to feel how they felt. It seemed as if each one sat up a little taller. She was there not as an ornament to her husband, but as a strong African American woman who could say with passion, "I love this country."

I walked out into the night, saying to myself, "I love this country."

Comments

[BusGreg]

As I watched Amy Goodman on DemocracyNow today the images of riot police detaining and pepper spraying peaceful protesters, the convention of 1968 in Chicago came to mind. What bothered me the most was the fact that most of these cops were in uniforms without any identification, such as name badges. This fact and the report of many peaceful protesters being handcuffed and later released should give any freedom loving American pausee to think. The problem here is that these people were deprived of their first amendment rights with no recourse, as there is no record of them being detained or a way to identify those law enfarcement people who denied them of their right to free speech. A democracy, where dissenters are either caged out of sight and earshot or detrained without cause is hardly the democracy our founding fathers had in mind!

[customgreen]

It was not suprising that Michelle hit hard on the "I love America" note. She was roundly criticized for her past remarks about America. It occured to me then, and even more now, that she never said anything wrong. It is O.K. to love your country and not be proud of some of the things that have happened. The protesters that are outside the Pepsi center prove that better than any speech. Each one has issues of what they dislike about America but you can bet each one loves their country. You wont see that in China.

[altohone]

Progressives need to lower their expectations.

Obama is a huge step in the right direction, but the forces resistant to change will stop most of what is attempted and the Bush/McCain deficits will stop the rest..

Before too long, the GOP will point to Bush's debt as proof we can't afford any social programs.
The corporate media will pucker up for the next propaganda campaign, and agendas will struggle for coverage.

I love this country too, but Obama's only talking about a portion of the problems we face.
Nobody should hope that those going unaddressed will be tackled too (our enabling of one of the most repressive regimes in the world, China, and many monarchs and autocrats will continue. We will prop up those who violate our ideals and deny their citizens the rights we yet maintain in the name of oil and terror because Big Money says so).

Electing Obama will stop the steady march to the right, but it won't move us back to the left.
He'll need two terms just to stop the bleeding and our dreams will require that he grooms a competent successor that can win if we don't want the march to the right to start again.

[SCharb]

True. Thing can only get worse before they get better. I''m hoping that the bleeding will have stopped after a term and a half, and Obama will have 2 years to make America somewhat better than it was before. But if Democrats lose either of the next two elections, America's going to Hell in a handbasket.

[RoloTomassi]

There is some truth to what you have expressed, but I feel you're still with most Americans in sharing the defunct notion that the US is a "higher values" world leader that has merely fallen off its normally pious game--and that's just nonsense.

We have fallen OFF of our pedestal, like it or not, and it is unlikely that we will regain the mantle top world power; already the rest of the world is readjusting their concepts of what and who we are, and most of those re-estimations are not favorable.

We don't prop up China; quite literally, it is just the opposite. You are correct that repressive regimes will continue, but we have forfeited all right to make such judgments for the rest of the world, and in reality we no longer hold enough sway to brow-beat others to adopt our perspective.

As far as moving back to the Left goes...well, that's a relative concept that only applies to the US within a practical context; in most developed nations our far Left would be considered Centrist, at best.