Đăng ký hoặc đăng nhập:
Sau khi đăng nhập, bạn sẽ có toàn quyền sử dụng các tính năng của VnVista
 Hiện có 322 người online (322 khách, 0 thành viên 0 thành viên ẩn)
 VnVista đã có 193,166 thành viên.
|
Barbara Jordan: 1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
12:56 PM - Wed, 12/10/05
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for a very warm reception.
It was one hundred and forty-four years ago that members of the Democratic Party first met in convention to select a Presidential candidate. Since that time, Democrats have continued to convene once every four years and draft a party platform and nominate a Presidential candidate. And our meeting this week is a continuation of that tradition. But there is something different about tonight...

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for a very warm reception.
It was one hundred and forty-four years ago that members of the
Democratic Party first met in convention to select a Presidential
candidate. Since that time, Democrats have continued to convene once
every four years and draft a party platform and nominate a Presidential
candidate. And our meeting this week is a continuation of that
tradition. But there is something different about tonight. There is
something special about tonight. What is different? What is special?
I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker.
When -- A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would
have been most unusual for any national political party to ask a
Barbara Jordan to deliver a keynote address. But tonight, here I am.
And I feel -- I feel that notwithstanding the past that my presence
here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not
forever be deferred.
Now -- Now that I have this grand distinction, what in the world am I
supposed to say? I could easily spend this time praising the
accomplishments of this party and attacking the Republicans -- but I
don't choose to do that. I could list the many problems which Americans
have. I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical,
angry, frustrated: problems which include lack of integrity in
government; the feeling that the individual no longer counts; the
reality of material and spiritual poverty; the feeling that the grand
American experiment is failing or has failed. I could recite these
problems, and then I could sit down and offer no solutions. But I don't
choose to do that either. The citizens of America expect more. They
deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.
We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in
search of our future. We are a people in search of a national
community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the
present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger
scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill
our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of
us are equal.
Throughout -- Throughout our history, when people have looked for new
ways to solve their problems and to uphold the principles of this
nation, many times they have turned to political parties. They have
often turned to the Democratic Party. What is it? What is it about the
Democratic Party that makes it the instrument the people use when they
search for ways to shape their future? Well I believe the answer to
that question lies in our concept of governing. Our concept of
governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply
rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience of
all of us.
Now what are these beliefs? First, we believe in equality for all and
privileges for none. This is a belief -- This is a belief that each
American, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public
forum -- all of us. Because -- Because we believe this idea so firmly,
we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come!
I think it no accident that most of those emigrating to America in the
19th century identified with the Democratic Party. We are a
heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds. We
believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that
the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.
This -- This can be accomplished only by providing each citizen with
every opportunity to participate in the management of the government.
They must have that, we believe. We believe that the government which
represents the authority of all the people, not just one interest
group, but all the people, has an obligation to actively -- underscore
actively -- seek to remove those obstacles which would block individual
achievement -- obstacles emanating from race, sex, economic condition.
The government must remove them, seek to remove them.
We -- We are a party -- We are a party of innovation. We do not reject
our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing cir*****stances,
when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change
in order to achieve a better future. We have a positive vision of the
future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and
reality of America can one day be finally closed. We believe that.
This, my friends, is the bedrock of our concept of governing. This is a
part of the reason why Americans have turned to the Democratic Party.
These are the foundations upon which a national community can be built.
*Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded
for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all
about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are
principles which are not negotiable.

In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on
the beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today
that is not enough. People want more. That is not sufficient reason for
the majority of the people of this country to vote Democratic.* We have
made mistakes. We realize that. We admit our mistakes. In our haste to
do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences
of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't
hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an
irreversible condition.
Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes, I still
believe that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party,
they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart.
They'll recognize that.
Now -- Now we must look to the future. Let us heed the voice of the
people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only
blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind
all Americans. Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their
leaders, and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only
to satisfy their private work -- wants; to satisfy their private
interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will
cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest
groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against
individual; each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who
then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?
This is the question which must be answered in 1976: Are we to be one
people bound together by common spirit, sharing in a common endeavor;
or will we become a divided nation? For all of its uncertainty, we
cannot flee the future. We must not become the "New Puritans" and
reject our society. We must address and master the future together. It
can be done if we restore the belief that we share a sense of national
community, that we share a common national endeavor. It can be done.
There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the
American people to form a national community. This we must do as
individuals, and if we do it as individuals, there is no President of
the United States who can veto that decision.
As a first step -- As a first step, we must restore our belief in
ourselves. We are a generous people, so why can't we be generous with
each other? We need to take to heart the words spoken by Thomas
Jefferson:
Let us restore the social intercourse -- "Let us
restore to social intercourse that harmony and that affection without
which liberty and even life are but dreary things."
A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the
responsibility for upholding the common good. A government is
invigorated when each one of us is willing to participate in shaping
the future of this nation. In this election year, we must define the
"common good" and begin again to shape a common future. Let each person
do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling to participate, all of
us are going to suffer. For the American idea, though it is shared by
all of us, is realized in each one of us.
Now, what are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to
do? We call ourselves "public servants" but I'll tell you this: We as
public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is
hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people
to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common
good. More is required -- More is required of public officials than
slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must
hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a
vision of the future.
If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If -- If we as
public officials propose, we must produce. If we say to the American
people, "It is time for you to be sacrificial" -- sacrifice. If the
public official says that, we [public officials] must be the first to
give. We must be. And again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to
admit them. We have to do that. What we have to do is strike a balance
between the idea that government should do everything and the idea, the
belief, that government ought to do nothing. Strike a balance.
Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of
a national community. It's tough, difficult, not easy. But a spirit of
harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we
share a common destiny. If each of us remembers, when self-interest and
bitterness seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.
I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.
I have confidence that the Democratic Party can lead the way.
I have that confidence.
We cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the
founders of the Republic. There is no way to improve upon that. But
what we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize
our destiny.
Now I began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a
Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well I am going to close my
speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you
listen to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of
a national community in which every last one of us participates:
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a
master." This -- This -- "This expresses my idea of Democracy. Whatever
differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no Democracy."
Thank you.
Bài mới
Các bài khác
|
Blog - bài viết tiêu điểm
Thế là tôi đã dùng hết một nửa kì nghỉ Tết của mình rồi, đúng là nhanh thật!
Hôm nay đã là mùng 6, người lớn quay lại với công việc, trẻ nhỏ chuẩn bị trở lại trường, có lẽ Tết đã hết thật rồi.
Tết năm nay có nhiều s�... (xem đầy đủ)
Nhật ký ngày 17 tháng 5 năm 2013
A ah, cả ngày hôm nay e chờ dòng tin nhắn hay một cú điện thoại của a thôi mà sao k có, em ngồi dưới trời nắng và điện mất như mún ngất ra khoảng không gian trống đó. Người đòi nợ gọi cho nhiều q... (xem đầy đủ)
Tháng 6 đến, tựa như mùa hè sắp sửa gõ cửa tới nơi. Ngồi ngâm về 2 năm trước, khoảng thời gian đang tất bật ôn thi tốt nghiệp rùi đại học, ừ thì đời người, coi như có 2 cuộc thi quan trọng đó nhất chứ mấy, không lo sao được.... (xem đầy đủ)
Sáng : Đi dạy đàn ! Có 1 bài muh La Thăng học 3 tuần rồi chưa đàn đc :-s Ko phải vì dở, mà vì lườiiiiiiiii i tậppppppp đànnnnnnn !!! Cô mún đét vô mông trò mí cái quá đê !!!
Trưa : Phụ mẹ nấu ăn, lâu rùi mới mò vô bếp :3 Nhà đang sửa n... (xem đầy đủ)
Hiểu rồi, cuối cùng cũng hiểu tại sao lúc nào cũng thắc mắc cái chuyện "Về đến nhà chưa ta ???" rồi !
Bữa nay dọn nhà từ sáng tới tối mà cũng chưa đâu vào đâu ... có điều, cùng dọn nhà với ba mẹ, thằng heo ... cảm thấy có không ... (xem đầy đủ)
Gần 1 năm trôi qua có biết bao điều để nhớ, cần quên, cũng chẳng thường viết mỗi khi rảnh nữa, mấy blog cũng bị bỏ rơi...
Thời gian cứ thế trôi đi cùng những kỉ niệm mà chẳng được ghi lại. Thu lại về, nhẹ nhàng, mát dịu,... ... (xem đầy đủ)
|