the "race" speech...

I waited until I had time to mull it over before commenting. I listened to it live.

First, I was struck by the lack of applause. It was almost eerie. Then when the applause came it wasn't over race; it was when Obama mentioned the economy. The applause was tacit at best throughout the Senator's remarks.

Second, there was very little inflection or modulation in his voice. It was almost monotony in tone. It aroused very little response.

Third, everything the Senator said has been said before. There was actually nothing new in it.

Fourth, I cringed at the beginning when he started using the Constitution and Founding Fathers as an intro. Almost all of them were slave owners and they emphasized that citizenship was based on property ownership, not equal rights.

Last, the comments in reaction around the blogosphere are not very excited. I've read Good Speech in more than one. A couple of blogs even used the word safe in their description.

I was also reminded how the Age of Aquarius in the 1960's was based on the sense of fairness and inclusiveness for all people, but it was fought with fervor and passion. It was sidetracked, however, by a dirty little war that became an obsession with those both for and against it. The peace it sought was put on hold and then diverted. Race became a consequence of the inequity that resulted from the war. In many ways the country is still fighting Vietnam.

I agree that a speech regarding race needs to be made. Race needs to be moved to the front burner, if anything else is be accomplished. It is the core complication that shades real progress. The conflict of differences needs to have a new focus.

I don't know if this speech was the one to make change or was effective in bringing to the fore the significance of confronting the distrust and the fear that surrounds it. Sometimes, I think I will never see it in my lifetime.


one other thing that would have helped me is if it was a a policy statement and not a political speech...