I have been an outspoken critic of many of President Obama’s policies from the day he took office and I will continue to be one as long as he pursues policies that violate the principles I believe in, but I still loved this passage from the commencement speech he gave at Barnard College:
“Whenever you feel that creeping cynicism, whenever you hear those voices say you can’t make a difference, whenever somebody tells you to set your sights lower–the trajectory of this country should give you hope. Young folks who marched and mobilized and stood up and sat in, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, didn’t just do it for themselves; they did it for other people. That’s how we achieved women’s rights. That’s how we achieved voting rights. That’s how we achieved workers’ rights. That’s how we achieved gay rights. That’s how we’ve made this Union more perfect.”
Very well said. At the same ceremony, Evan Wolfson, who has probably done more to advance marriage equality than anyone else, first with Lambda Legal and then with Freedom to Marry, received a medal of honor for his work. And he pointed out that the opponent in those battles is always the same:
“The opponents of gay peoples’ freedom to marry and participation in society in general are the same people who stand against women’s equality, women’s empowerment, women’s economic freedom.”
As Martin Luther King famously said, “the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.”
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Trebuchet
May 20, 2012 at 11:03 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“The opponents of gay peoples’ freedom to marry and participation in society in general are the same people who stand against women’s equality, women’s empowerment, women’s economic freedom.”
Not to mention all of the same for black people.
Marcus Ranum
May 20, 2012 at 11:09 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
This, from the man who is helping keep the country on the trajectory that gives me no hope. What a monster! His words appeal to hope but his actions drive me to despair.
Didaktylos
May 20, 2012 at 12:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Marcus Ranum – I commend for your consideration this anecdote concerning Charles II. The Earl of Rochester wrote a mock epitaph for him thus:
Here lies our sovereign lord, the King,
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.
His reply:
His words were his own
His actions were his ministers’
Reginald Selkirk
May 20, 2012 at 1:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
If your history is arcing, you’ve probably got bad insulation, and it’s due for a rewiring.
otrame
May 20, 2012 at 2:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Oh for fuck’s sake, Marcus Ranum. He is not the liberal’s wet dream too many people thought he was, and some of the things he has done enrage me, but he is not a monster. I think he is honestly trying, against enormous odds, to make things better. I will never forget or forgive that that he failed in his promise to close Gitmo, a stain on the honor of my county, but he also managed to get rid of DADT and got a start (barely) on health care reform.
And though I did vote FOR him, this time I will be voting against his opponent. I don’t think Romney is a monster either. He’s just like Bush, an over-privileged doofus who thinks he actually earned what he has and loves listening to all the men who tell him how wonderful he is. He’s just pathetic, but he is run by people who are monsters. There really is no choice here.
Gretchen
May 20, 2012 at 3:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Dear Obama,
Actually the way most advances in human rights have been achieved is via decisions by the Supreme Court. The people demonstrate when they are desperate, and Stonewall wasn’t even a demonstration– it was an all-out battle waged because of grossly unjust treatment by the police. Yes, the people should demonstrate against flagrant violations of rights by their government. But for the president to suggest that they do so is a little like encouraging someone to cry out while your boot is on their neck.
KG
May 20, 2012 at 5:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
But I have it on good authority that he’s very kind to carrots.
Aliasalpha
May 21, 2012 at 5:34 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Assuming you don’t fall victim to his insidious ability to murder detractors using that most deadly of weapons; natural causes
Tualha
May 21, 2012 at 10:10 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hmm, Well Mr. President, Bradley Manning is also a young person who stood up for what was right. And your government is persecuting her. Hypocritical much, bastard?