Obama has a speech
I heard Barack Obama's speech today.
I hadn't planned on it; indeed, normally I'd've been asleep, since I work the graveyard shift and usually get home somewhere around dawn. But Monday is part of my weekend, my Sunday as it were, and I've been battling freaky sleep patterns lately due to allergies and insomnia and Cheenchee knows what-all else.
So I was awake, and had my favorite Progressive Radio Station turned on, playing as an audio backdrop while I read some silly fantasy novel in the hopes of becoming sleepy enough to catch a few more zees before I finally got ready for work.
And I was vaguely aware when Senator Obama began to speak. I knew this was a Very Important Speech for him, that his campaign was in danger of fatally faltering, but I figured I'd catch the highlights later on like I always did... I've never been a fan of political speeches, no matter who it was who gave them. "Oh cool," I thought idly, "they're carrying his speech live." And went back to my reading.
Then the words he was saying began to penetrate my brain. I found myself listening to a phrase, then a sentence, then my book slipped unnoticed from my hand as I focused all my attention on what he was saying.
And all I could think, as he drew to a close, was that Wow -- this man could be our next president. I felt like I had just heard one of The Great Speeches of our nation, the ones that are listened to and analyzed years -- nay, decades -- later in history and sociology classes as Turning Points In History. And much to my amazement, I was crying. Hell, I was sobbing, clutching my cat and soaking her fur, which annoyed her greatly and led to her trying to get me to stop crying on her and pet her properly, dammit! (Silly cat never had much grasp of history....)
I realized, for the first time in my entire voting career, that this time I will be voting for someone, not merely against someone else. Yes, I will vote for whomever carries the Democratic banner... but if it's Obama, it will be for him, not merely against McSame. Finally, we have a leader, a Real Leader, in the running -- a nascent Statesman, not just another Politician, no matter how talented that Politician may be.
And whether Obama gets the Democratic nomination or not, whether he becomes our next President or not, we have still witnessed history being made today. I don't know how it will develop, or what its shape will be, but Something Happened today, and I was there to hear it.
I hadn't planned on it; indeed, normally I'd've been asleep, since I work the graveyard shift and usually get home somewhere around dawn. But Monday is part of my weekend, my Sunday as it were, and I've been battling freaky sleep patterns lately due to allergies and insomnia and Cheenchee knows what-all else.
So I was awake, and had my favorite Progressive Radio Station turned on, playing as an audio backdrop while I read some silly fantasy novel in the hopes of becoming sleepy enough to catch a few more zees before I finally got ready for work.
And I was vaguely aware when Senator Obama began to speak. I knew this was a Very Important Speech for him, that his campaign was in danger of fatally faltering, but I figured I'd catch the highlights later on like I always did... I've never been a fan of political speeches, no matter who it was who gave them. "Oh cool," I thought idly, "they're carrying his speech live." And went back to my reading.
Then the words he was saying began to penetrate my brain. I found myself listening to a phrase, then a sentence, then my book slipped unnoticed from my hand as I focused all my attention on what he was saying.
And all I could think, as he drew to a close, was that Wow -- this man could be our next president. I felt like I had just heard one of The Great Speeches of our nation, the ones that are listened to and analyzed years -- nay, decades -- later in history and sociology classes as Turning Points In History. And much to my amazement, I was crying. Hell, I was sobbing, clutching my cat and soaking her fur, which annoyed her greatly and led to her trying to get me to stop crying on her and pet her properly, dammit! (Silly cat never had much grasp of history....)
I realized, for the first time in my entire voting career, that this time I will be voting for someone, not merely against someone else. Yes, I will vote for whomever carries the Democratic banner... but if it's Obama, it will be for him, not merely against McSame. Finally, we have a leader, a Real Leader, in the running -- a nascent Statesman, not just another Politician, no matter how talented that Politician may be.
And whether Obama gets the Democratic nomination or not, whether he becomes our next President or not, we have still witnessed history being made today. I don't know how it will develop, or what its shape will be, but Something Happened today, and I was there to hear it.