Letters to the Editor
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@jebldmm
Thank you for the link to the listing of great speeches on social justice and civil rights issues. I had read many of them, of course, but several were new to me so I am grateful for the fresh information.
The speeches on this web site share several important characteristics which makes them great: they turn an unblinking and analytic gaze on a central question in American history. They do not skirt the issues of the day or attempt to sugarcoat them with circumlocution. They are not delivered in coded language meant to convey a "kitchen sink" message to followers while deceiving the unsuspecting general audience. They were not delivered by surrogates. They opened up new conversations about the gap between America's ideals and the reality lived and suffered. These speeches are brave, direct, and speak to grim but essential truths that many contemporary listeners were unhappy to have thrust before them.
These are precisely the qualities that characterize the remarkable speech the Barack Obama gave today in Philadelphia. He was honest, open, thoughtful, and unafraid to display the power of his intellect and his compassion.
Race is far and away the toughest issue in American history and contemporary life. Barack Obama showed today that he has the guts to examine that issue head on. The question now is, are we as a nation ready to accept his challenge. Or will we scurry to our pre-defined holes, throw dirt over our heads, and continue to thrill ourselves with YouTube video loops and contemplation of the navels of superdelegates?
So again, thank you for the link to the web site for paradigm-shifting American speeches on social justice. You have convinced me that Obama's address will be listed there soon enough.