The Hope is Not Enough
It's not enough, but never lose infinite hope
“We must choose courage over complacency.” Stevie Wonder
Tonight there is a good chance that I will be watching the first female black candidate for the President of the United States accept her nomination as the culmination of an incredibly well scripted, designed and planned out week of activities at the DNC 2024.
I can honestly say that I was a huge Kamala fan four years ago and until President Biden decided to enter the primaries, she was by far my preferred choice to go up against Donald Trump. A whole lot has changed since then but I am still a fan of Kamala and even if I was not, in 75 days it’s not Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump on the ballot, it’s humanity vs. fascism. With all my respect to Joe Biden and firm belief that it was a mistake to force him out from running, at the end of the day, it really should not matter whether it’s Joe, Kamala or literally a dead corpse running against Trump, the choice for anyone with even an ounce of humanity in them is simple, it is not a political choice, it is a moral choice and as such the candidate does not matter.
A couple of days ago I mused that even though Rachel Scott,, arguably, did the best and strongest job of any journalist who has interviewed Donald Trump, her portion as well as the rest of the NABJ interview was an abject failure. My spouse, always the voice of reason and rationality in such matters, tried to explain to me that Ms. Scott likely did not want to risk her job and by extension her career by openly calling a spade a spade.. err Donald Trump racist, which we all know he is. Under relatively normal circumstances, it is a defensible choice, especially considering the toughness of her approach compared to the platitudes from the majority of the media. However, these are not, in my mind, normal circumstance. This is not politics and convenience, this is an existential threat and Ms. Scott, just like myself, will be one of the first to be persecuted under the fascist regime next year. Of course, she still can continue reporting, “Crowd chanted “lock him up” when @HillaryClinton mentioned Donald Trump’s name. Clinton noticeably started nodding….”
Therein lies a bigger problem.
Hope is not a strategy.
Democratic National Convention that seemingly kicked off so well Monday with Shawn Fain (you gotta love the scab shirt!), Steve Kerr (Night!Night!), and AOC, perfectly following on the “surprised” appearance from Kamala:
“Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here united by our shared vision for the future of our country, and this November, we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, we are moving forward.
With optimism, hope and faith, so guided by our love of country, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us, let us fight for the ideals we hold dear, and let us always remember when we fight, we win.”
That future that the party is moving forward to, apparently was the past. How do you follow up Monday’s lineup of younger, energetic forward-looking personalities with… Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden at 11:30PM????
Tuesday was not much better - truly amazing roll call with lots of young fresh faces was followed with truly weird dance from 73-year old Chuck Schumer, a very authentic but a bit cringey stories from Doug Emhoff and a very lengthy soliloquy from 82 year old Bernie Sanders leading up to the highlight of the night, former first couple, Barack and Michelle Obama.
Both Barack and Michelle Obama's electrically brilliant speeches clearly were well coordinated and incredibly well written and seemingly perfectly met Democrats' needs. This was perhaps the first time that I could see both Obama takes the proverbial gloves off and at least try not to take the high road for once. I complete agree with the first sentence from David Simon: “I have lived long enough to see a former U.S. president make a dick joke about another former U.S. president and it is a worthy, subtle and gracefully delivered dick joke. If after I am departed from this vale, anyone claims I died unhappy they are lying.”
I completely disagree with the second sentence. If we are finally ready to fight with our gloves off and hands not behind our back, why are we still holding back? Fine, if Rachel Scott cannot do the needful and call out Donald Trump as a racist in front of a camera or at the very least goad him into caller her the n-word, what’s stopping Barack or Michelle? It is an undisputed truth, they both continuously alluded to that and yet both stop short of actually saying it.
How do you fight evil if you do not even acknowledge what it is??
Why do you expect people to show up and vote for the future in the most crucial election in our lifetimes when you won’t have the courage to openly say that this November it is a choice between democracy and fascism?
Former Judge Luttig said more than either of the Obamas:
It’s not like DNC does not have actual serious issues to address already:
From quietly dropping the abolishment of the death penalty from their party platform, to complete refusal to allow a single Palestinian American to speak at the convention, to lack of strategy to address majority of Hispanics now supporting mass deportations, to continued decrease in support of trans-rights, to the brutality and awfulness happening outside the DNC while the presentation has been slick and joyful.
I agree with Jennifer Mercieca when she writes that “I’m so excited that the Dems are embracing and defining and laying claim to “America” and “freedom” and telling a story of hope and positivity. It’s a joy to see.”
I only wish that the claim would be for everyone and not be simply less restrictive and less selective than fascism.
Me too Jared, me too.
In roughly four election cycles, 70% of US population will live in 15 states with 30 senators. That means 30% of country, which is whiter, more rural, more conservative, more religious, will elect 70% of senators… time is running out and we need more than hope.
“The universe has no morals. It is random and violent and unpredictable and does not give a fuck about Black people or Palestinian children or genocide or racism or votes. Justice is not inevitable. The idea of a "moral universe" is just a figment of the human imagination.
The long arc of the moral universe does NOT bend toward justice.
You gotta bend that motherfucker.
