timely

I posted yesterday about race, gender, history, and the current run for office. It was a train of thought I had (although very incomplete and scattered) in thinking about the primary race in the Democratic party. More than the race for office I was thinking about America and the journey we have been on and are on, the legacy of both the horrors and victories of the past. This morning I was at the gym when Obama began his speech on race (in response to the recent concern about his pastor in Chicago) on CNN so I put my earphones in and tuned in. I almost stepped off the elliptical and cheered and was saying “Amen!” while listening to his much more eloquent description of our current situation and the difficult choices that lie ahead for us a country regardless of who is elected. Now that Annikah is slumbering in her crib I listened to the speech in its entirety. His story is valuable to the dialogue about race in our country today and his candor and ability to express such polarizing issues with grace and dignity is amazing to me. Even if you disagree with his politics we cannot ignore the issues he raises and if we chose to we turn our backs on America and what it can be. Take the time to listen or read his words. This dialogue is so vital to all of us as we, in his words “continue to perfect our Union.”

“But what we know — what we have seen — is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope — the audacity to hope — for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.” -Obama