Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Democratic Convention

Are you watching the Democratic Convention? If not, you will want to get on youtube or CNN and start watching the videos. My favorite speech so far is from Hillary. Although I have not heard Kennedy or Michelle Obama's speeches and so I don't have their speeches to compare to.

First, let me get the superficial observations out of the way so that I can then get to the more important stuff. I like Michelle's light green dress, very hip and classy. I love the orange suit on Hillary. Who knew that orange can look that good? I have an orange skirt that I have never worked up the courage to wear. Even Chelsea looks really pretty today with long soft much blonder hair. I want the make-up artist who did Hillary and Chelsea's make-up. These women looked great tonight. Hillary must have gotten some sleep because she looks fresh and not worn out as she did towards the end of the primaries.

Hillary has always been a great speaker and her speech tonight was definitely smart and effective. She made a point of letting her supporters know that they should not be voting just for her only but they should vote for the healthcare reform and issues that they believe in and thus they should be voting for Obama. Many Hillary supporters have threatened to not vote or to vote for McCain if Obama were the Democratic nominee; this latter one makes no sense to me -- so one would change the issues they believe in and vote for different issues instead -- very logical there!

Being the geek that I am, I went and read the transcript for Michelle's speech. What struck me the most about her speech was the fact that it highlighted for me how America is such a land of opportunities. In what other countries could a South Chicago black woman go to Princeton and Harvard and become the president of the Chicago hospitals (or something like that...I might be off on this a bit)? It reminded me of my own immigrant background and how far I have come myself. Although it was only 16 years ago that I first arrived in this country with little to no English and with a mother who worked 2 minimum wage jobs to pay our rent, sometimes it is hard to remember that life because where I am not is so vastly different from where I came from. Perhaps this is why I fervently believe in the value of hard work and the power of taking action to improve your own destiny - you and only you have the power to change your life for the better but you will have to work hard at it because overcoming adversity is not easy. This may sound cheesy but it's the truth! Although disparity in wealth does exist even in Amercia, this is also the only country where there is not a rigid class system where one would have to born into a certain class. In America, one can go from barely making ends meet to being middle class or more. Whenever I get to travel or go to a special dinner or event, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have the opportunities to enjoy these things, especially since I could never travel outside of my own city 16 years ago.

If I can remember, I plan to watch the Republican Convention starting next Monday just to see what it is like. This is the first election where I am following the primaries and convention and it has been great. There is so much to learn from watching these things.

Two more days down and 3 more to go until the long weekend. I cannot wait!

2 comments:

Mariandy said...

We were only able to see the convention in bits and pieces the morning after. Yes, we could have gone on You Tube but were too busy working and then running around getting dinner and doing tourist stuff while S was here. But we liked what we saw. Say, is CNN showing those profiles of Obama and McCain? They're very well done. By the way do you think Sarah Palin looks a little like Shania Twain? I keep waiting for her to break out and start signing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" LOL.

Mariandy said...

I forgot to say that I really appreciate that you shared your experiences. Working hard and sacrificing really does pay off - even though it's not easy when it's happening. For sure.