Sunday, May 17, 2020

The Folks We've Been Waiting For


In last night's virtual graduation, Barack Obama took on Donald Trump and his administration. He did so directly and with polish, but without mentioning Trump's name:

“More than anything, this pandemic has fully finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
“Let’s be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country,” he said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”

And, like any good commencement speaker, he challenged the young to go out and bravely face the future:

“No generation has been better positioned to be warriors for justice and remake the world,” he said.
“So rather than say, ‘What’s in it for me?’ or ‘What’s in it for my community and to heck with everyone else,’ stand up for and join up with everyone who’s struggling — whether immigrants, refugees, the rural poor, the LGBTQ community, low-income workers of every background, women who so often are subject to their own discrimination and burdens and not getting equal pay for equal work,” Obama said. “Look out for folks whether they are white or black or Asian or Latino or Native American. As Fannie Lou Hamer once said, ‘Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.’”
"You're the folks we've been waiting for."

This will all get under Trump's skin -- as it should. But it also speaks to America's better angels -- something Trump never does.

Image: You Tube


8 comments:

Toby said...

I miss having a US president who could actually speak coherently. In addition Obama has vision and inspiration.

Owen Gray said...

The contrast between the present and the immediate past is simply painful, Toby.

Lorne said...

When it comes to the United State these days, I'm not used to seeing an adult in the room, Owen.

Owen Gray said...

I noted that, at one point in his speech, Obama said, "Little kids think like that." He was referring to certain people who operate in the White House, Lorne.

Trailblazer said...

Wonderful president!
I say that tongue in cheek.
Obama was just another American bomber!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/09/america-dropped-26171-bombs-2016-obama-legacy


How our political leaders sleep at night is a source of wonderment!!

Why we find heros within them is a source of bewilderment or nausea.



TB

the salamander said...

.. Its an old fave analogy of mine.. the term 'rats in the granary'
Realistically, we have to accept that 'Public Service' - ie 'Politics' - ie 'Governance' is infested by parasites. Its going to require daring and brilliant 'leadership' to take away.. take back.. the power & the payment we invest scum like Pierre Poilievre, Donald Trump, Jason Kenney, Mitch McConnell with. And the rancid characters that crawl into the 'big tent' with them need to be purged. Big Big job.. The laughable aspect is they are right there.. in plain sight.. pissing and shitting in the granary.. and laughing at us.

Do I think Andrew Scheer or Sean Hannity, Ezra Levant, Rand Paul or Rona Ambrose are experiencing much 'privation'.. or insecurity ? Sleepless nights about buying groceries or car payments ? Do I think they can 'relate' to a young student from Saskatchewan or Idaho.. who had high hopes of advancing this year from high school toward a medical career or mastering a challenging trade ? No, I do not. So why do we tolerate such incompetance and arrogance.. tone deaf people expecting us to 'donate' to their 'political cause' while we continue to subsidize and reward their failure to accomplish what we hired them to do ?

I find it astonishing .. shocking

Owen Gray said...

If we expect to find saints in politics, TB, we will forever be disappointed. After all, the profession is like sausage-making -- it's a messy business. But we need sausage makers and we need politicians.

And we should expect competence from both. Obama is a very competent politician -- who can also inspire. Trump is neither inspirational or competent.

Owen Gray said...

I take your point, sal. Politics is a profession which exits on this side of heaven -- not in the afterlife. But we should expect competence. And we should be able to tell the difference between a true public servant and a grifter.