You know, I'm not a fan of Reagan, but I recognize that a huge reason he was so popular was because he made so many people feel good about being Americans again. Just like Kennedy.
It's seemingly contradictory, but in this time of such raging jingoism, there are so many people out there who just don't feel good about being Americans. I suppose that's just an extension of the "red-blue divide." Count me in amongst those who are not proud...
What's my point? It's that the kinds of words that Obama speaks are reminiscent of Kennedy, of Reagan...of the people who were able to make people feel good about the place they came from. The upside is that he's not a whole lot like Reagan in other senses. I can't imagine Obama being a proponent of trickle-down economics ever. But that's a tangent.
A huge part of Obama's message is not only about helping people find the way to feel proud of their nation again, but also reminding them that they have the power to bring about the change necessary to do so. You know his slogan--"I'm not just asking you to believe in my ability to bring about change in Washington- I'm asking you to believe in yours." It's a little reminiscent of "Ask not what your country can do you for you, ask what you can do for your country" don't you think?
I guess that's it. If you don't watch the video, at least chew on this for a bit:
"For many months, we've been teased, even derided for talking about hope.
But we always knew that hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it."
Or even just tease out the best of the best: "We always knew that hope is not blind optimism." You really should listen to him say it though.
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