A More Perfect Union

[Note: I haven't blogged about specific party politics since I became principal of SLA. It's not hard to guess where I stand politically, and I have not taken down a single entry I wrote, but I felt I had to write about this.]

Yesterday, I made up my mind who I was voting for on April 22nd.

Yesterday, I saw the most courageous and powerful political speech in a generation, if not more.

Yesterday, Barack Obama took the stage for what most thought would be a defensive speech in an attempt to repair damage made by his association with his pastor who has made controversial remarks over the years.

Yesterday, I watched Barack Obama challenge all of us to change the way we think about race, to move beyond a zero-sum game and instead imagine a world where we can heal together better than we ever can apart.

Yesterday, I watched a major candidate for president say openly and publicly the things that were often only whispered or spoken in "safe," homogeneous groups.

Yesterday, I watched Barack Obama take a major step toward changing the way we talk about race and class in this country.

Yesterday, I watched Barack Obama give us a hopeful, honest vision of the future while being painfully and powerfully honest about our past and our present.

Yesterday, I watched Barack Obama challenge us to change the way we talk about politics in this country.

In the end, people will vote for who they want to vote for. And there are certainly good reasons to vote for any of the three candidates in the race. But I do believe that yesterday's speech will go down, regardless of the outcome on April 22nd or the outcome in November, as one of the most important speeches in recent American history. It is something that every American should watch, because it challenges us. It is something that should be talked about in our schools and around our dinner tables, because Sen. Obama spoke honestly and openly and truthfully about the problem that confounds our nation -- the way we talk about and deal with race and class and anger and hatred. He challenged us in a way that we have not been challenged since Martin Luther King spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Yesterday, I watched Barack Obama create history, whole cloth with his words, standing in the National Constitution Center in my city. He reminded us of the best of what we can be, of what our country can be.

If you haven't seen it yet, set aside thirty-seven minutes, and watch the speech.