First, I must offer my heartfelt apology to John Edwards, because I am going back on my word. In an email I sent last week that will probably never be read by human eyes, I pledged that I would stay with John Edwards to the end, be that a nomination, election, and inauguration, or his leaving the race.
I still believe that John Edwards is speaking about the single greatest issue that must be dealt with in the United States today : the class war. And I still believe he would make a fantastic President.
However, after further consideration I must reluctantly and apologetically rescind my support for Mr. Edwards, and place it with Barack Obama. For whatever that may be worth.
The main opposition to an Obama candidacy seems to be centered on the notion that all he has to offer is flowery rhetoric and feel good stories. That his post-partisan ideas are too full of idealistic sunshine for this dark, dismal age of win at all costs politics.
I’m not here to argue whether or not that is all that Obama has to offer because I honestly do not know. Besides, there have been billions of words written on that account by people much more knowledgable and articulate than myself.
Instead, I will posit that maybe hopeful rhetoric and eloquent oratory are exactly what we need right now.
What we desperately need.
Tonight a small, petty man is going to take the podium in front of his enablers and sycophants, and try to further the cloud of discord that keeps him and his ilk in power. He will attempt to appeal to our baser instincts, our fears, and our prejudices.
This administration has been a cancer not only on our reputation, our treasury, and our discourse, but on our nation’s very soul. They push unsustainable policies in a political environment that is unsustainable itself.
The problems we face cannot all be solved simply by policy handed down from above. They are too large to be the task of one man or woman, or even one party.
It is said that in a democracy, when the people lead the leaders will follow. And if the people are inspired, they will lead. I believe strongly this is the only path that does not end in catastrophe.
I desperately want the people to be inspired. I still believe, as Bill Clinton said long ago, that there is nothing wrong with America that can’t be cured with what is right with America. But I also believe we are dangerously close to the tipping point.
It is because of this, because of the need to appeal to our good qualities, our hopes, and our aspirations, that I hereby endorse Barack Obama for President.
I will leave you with V’s speech to the people of London, from V for Vendetta, and the hope that you will remain open to being inspired.
Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration – whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday – I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?
Cruelty and injustice…intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told…if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words – they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek…then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!
