Monday, August 17, 2020

CAN DO BETTER


 

The first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention was unique in that it did not come with the usual pomp and circumstance that is expected with a political party convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic shifting the festivities from the originally scheduled location of Milwaukee, WI to events held remotely.

The theme was We The People, an allusion to the first three words of the US Constitution and what the convention was aiming to center itself around.

Some of the highlights of the night were Representative Jim Clyburn showing off his history degree from the harbor of Charleston, SC, the other Democratic presidential candidates voicing their support for the ticket of Biden-Harris, an array of former Republican elected officials supporting Biden, Doug Jones with the photographs of the 4 little girls he got justice for in the background, and a short film about Biden’s daily commute on Amtrak when he was a US Senator from Delaware.

What stood out to me the most were two speeches

The first was from Kristin Urquiza, whose father voted for Donald Trump and denied the lethality of COVID-19.

That denialism combined with the inaction of the Trump administration and the reopening of Arizona for the sake of the economy and lack of regard for public health by Governor Doug Ducey cost her father his life as well as many others.

“The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas, the America that Donald Trump lives in, and the America that my father died in… Enough is enough. Donald Trump may not have caused the coronavirus, but his dishonesty and irresponsible actions made it so much worse.”

The other was Michelle Obama who as expected was featured in the 10PM eastern slot and wearing a necklace with one message: vote.

Because of her close proximity as Barack Obama’s spouse she had a front row seat to all of the joys, difficulties, and everything in between during his eight years in office.

She championed the successes that the Obama-Biden team achieved during their two terms in the White House.

Then she with laser precision tore into the cold hard truth about the Trump-Pence administration.

“So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”

Mrs. Obama mentions she hates politics so that should put to bed all the talk about her running for any office, but her love of this country and care for all of our children outweighs that.

She also gave a warning – and I hope that people listen to her – that if Trump is given another term, things can and will get worse by fermenting more chaos.

If you need a plan to vote, Mrs. Obama has one:

 “We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.”

“We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.”

I recommend watching and listening to Michelle’s words because we the people must and can do better than what we have right now in the White House.

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