Quote:
Originally Posted by badnarik
if obama cares about blacks he should speak out against the drug war. i read his latest speech and don't really see what the big deal is.
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The drug war is a single issue, this was a much bigger picture.
In an ideal world, this wouldn't have been such a big deal. Politicians wouldn't be avoiding controversies and afraid of taking the high road, even if it could cost them. They would speak honestly, rationally and eloquently all the time, speaking to people as if they were rational, adult human beings, capable of understanding concepts that are more complex than simple fingerpointing, capable of listening to someone for over half an hour and actually thinking about what was said.
This world is very far from that world. I get it that the speech itself doesn't touch everyone. It actually doesn't touch me that much, partly because it really has very little to do with me. (Finland is one of the whitest countries in the world propably, and I'm white, and relatively relaxed about racial issues to start with.) However I deeply appreciate the sheer craftmanship in the speech, and I think everyone should be able to appreciate the way the man handled himself in a difficult situation. He acted in a way which seemed to be totally gone from politics: rationally, responsibly and gracefully.
So it's not so much about the speech itself for me, it's more about the context.