I Want to Live in an Obama Speech

I want to live in an Obama speech. He knocks 'em out of the park. Don't get me wrong - he’s terrible at baseball; his opening day pitch was only a little better than his attempt at bowling, but when it comes to orating, the guy hits home runs.  And he’s too skinny to be on ‘roids, so he’s got to be legit.

They say talk is cheap but with him it’s cheap and it’s good. True bang for your buck - even if you don’t like his politics (and if you don’t - come on, who would you rather put in the White House? I mean honestly, who would you rather have in the White House than Barack Obama? If you have no answer then I suggest you hunker down and help him dig us out of this freakin’ hole).

Needless to say, I thought his memorial address in Tuscon was impressive. Although, am I the only one who found the smiling and clapping a little creepy? I suppose people needed a certain amount of that, not to mention that when 14,000 people get together to listen to Barry string words together they're gonna clap, but still, I found it utterly surreal at one point when he said:

We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61 year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer's ammunition...

It sounded like a logline from TV Guide. And then everybody cheered and clapped and he smiled and clapped along as if someone had just scored a Bingo.

Anyway, the address was terrific. He spoke of healing and humility and empathy, he quoted Scripture, he said "life partner" along with husband and wife - a little something for everybody. His words about death were poignant and familiar to my own experience. Whenever I’ve been close to death I marvel at how the world slows down, the same world that moments before seemed to be moving so impossibly fast. When someone dies, suddenly nothing else is very important.

After all, that's what most of us do when we lose somebody in our family - especially if the loss is unexpected. We're shaken out of our routines. We're forced to look inward. We reflect on the past: Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in a while but every single day?

Barack would’ve been proud of me yesterday morning. I realized I was heading out the door in a foul mood so I turned around to spread some sugar around the apartment – to The Wife, both dogs, and The Boy –just in case I got killed by a snowplow before I could make it back home. I didn't exactly tell The Wife I desperately loved her, but it was an improvement on the grunt I'd given her moments earlier. 

Obama also spoke to The Big Idea as I like to call it, an idea that courses through every religion and every school yard; the idea that we should treat people well, treat people as we would want to be treated, an idea that I believe is embedded in our DNA despite all the contradictory evidence.

We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us...We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved - and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.

 Maybe I'm biased but I like having a writer in the White House. I think words matter so I'm glad our president is articulate and capable of nuanced thought. And that is not a dig at our last president. It would be inappropriate to take a cheap shot like that while the country's rhetorical seas are changing for the better. Nor is it a dig at Sarah Palin, who I'm sure has been surprised by the amount of heat she's been catching for using the term 'blood libel'.  What people have to understand is that she uses that term more casually than most history books and dictionaries.  It's just a term she uses around the house like, "Jeez, Bristol, replace the batteries. Don't make a blood libel out of it." It's not her fault. I mean it. She makes words up. We can all stop listening to her.

I recommend reading the text of Obama's address. (And for that matter, have you read his race speech lately?!  It truly makes me feel both hopey and changey.)  With all the short form writing that occurs in blogs, tweets, and text messages, his speeches are an opportunity to read well-crafted, inspired pieces of writing that are longer than 140 characters.  I'll end with just six here, one for each of those slain in Arizona: R.I.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Cheap Supra Skytop For Sale]

True bang for your buck - even if you don’t like his politics (and if you don’t - come on, who would you rather put in the White House? I mean honestly, who would you rather have in the White House than Barack Obama? If you have no answer then I suggest you hunker down and help him dig us out of this freakin’ hole).

[kigefiergergo]

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