Barack Obama and the American Dream

Like Dave at Groundhog Day I must “confess I’m not paying very much attention to the convention, and only slightly more to the webloggers who are paying attention to themselves, pretending to pay attention to the convention.”

After all, I’ve never been too enthralled with those who merely preach to the congregation, telling them what they already “know” and what they want to hear, true or not.

Still like Raye at By Sand and Sea, who I borrowed the following link from, I’m glad I heard the powerful speech by Barack Obama, a relatively young politician from Illinois.

Obama who would seem to embody the American Dream through his own personal success, has not forgotten his roots or those things that made his success possible.

If you need some inspiration, go listen to or read Obama’s speech.

If you’re still here, and you shouldn’t be, let me just note that the following excerpt seemed the essence of his speech for me:

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted or at least, most of the time.

It is this ability to empower all of its citizens, to provide an equal opportunity for success that has made America the most successful country in the world, even if that “success” has too often been measured in material success for my own tastes.