44 Years and Hope Remains

After visiting our nation's capital and in remembrance of today's national holiday, I watched Martin Luther King's speech from 44 years ago. It's hard to believe that he was only 34 when he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke of his dream. As I watched, I noticed how the power of his words physically impacted him. The last five minutes of the speech, he seems to grow taller, almost out of himself. He was bigger than the time in which he lived and that's why his speech still resonates today. That, and the pathetic fact, that his dream has still not been realized.

Washington D.C. is majestic -the architecture, the boulevards, the memorials, the city plan. I thought during my visit that the layout of this city, designed by a Frenchman, Pierre L'Enfant, beckons us to live up to its glory. Can we remain as resolute as Lincoln? Can we soar to the greatest of heights like the Washington Monument? Can we be as disciplined as the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? Can we remember the humanity in war as the names remind us at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial? Can we be as visionary as the words at the National Archives? Can we show dignity like the simple wooden cross that marks Robert F. Kennedy's grave?

Despite the news this week, I think we can.

Patriotism and Hope

There were a few highlights during my time in D.C. An old KC family friend, who shall remain nameless for privacy's sake, gave us an inspiring tour of the Capitol. She impressed us with her knowledge and reminded us - even taught us - our history both good and bad. When I hear the word patriotic, it makes me sick to my stomach. The word, its meaning, and its value have been stolen by men and women willing to sell their soul for soulless ideology. After our tour ended, I told my sister Nancy that it was clear that our friend really loves her country - in the way she pointed out the details of the architecture, related small moments in history, provided us with humorous anecdotes, and questioned current policies. Still, she continues her work for the government with what seems to be optimism and hope.

Knowing the truth about something and continuing to believe in its capacity to be better and to work to make it happen - that is true patriotism.

The second highlight was the chance to shake hands with Senator Barack Obama. I haven't been starstruck too many times in my life but I can admit it, I was a little nervous. While waiting for the new senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, to speak at a reception in her honor, we visited Obama's office and inquired about employment. After being told no positions were available, Nancy interrupted, "She wants to work for the campaign!" His staffer let us know that he hadn't announced but we both said, "We know he will!" (In fact, I got a heads-up for a MLW reader in Houston, Kelly Johnson, that he will announce this week on Oprah as he promised.)

The staffer did let us know that he'd be at Claire's reception, so we went back downstairs. Five minutes later, he was there. Nancy shook his hand and told him that we were rooting for him and would work hard to get him elected. I shook his hand and quoted the conservative columnist at The New York Times, David Brooks, "Run, Barack, Run." I got a laugh and a big smile.

A few people have perceived and then dismissed my support for the senator as a school-girl crush. A revealing attempt at diminishing a life time of studying history and politics to nothing more than an adolescent fantasy. Do they say that to men who think of John F. Kennedy as their hero? It hasn't just been those on the right with this attitude. I expect those on the left to hold themselves to a higher standard when it comes to a woman's political opinion.

I support Senator Obama because I believe he is the voice of my generation. I believe his willingness to make judgments based on both sides of an argument, instead of following the Democratic party line, shows he didn't become a politician just to win elections. I believe his ability to speak the truth about his past, that he smoked pot and blew some lines, shows he is no different than a majority of American aged 55 and younger. I believe his inexperience in national politics is an asset and is what will make him a better leader. I believe that his ideas for change - although still in formation - reflect an emotional and spiritual intelligence that allows him to awaken the best of human nature.

I believe that electing a bi-racial man who looks black can heal this nation's racial wounds like nothing else can. You can say voting for him because he is symbolic is no rationale for electing a President but symbolism plays a powerful role in the journey of the human psyche and the human soul. All of our leaders have traced a deep path of symbolism in our nation's history. Most recently, W. as the risk-taking cowboy. Who among us can deny the impact - negative though it may be - on history of his image as a cowboy? Who can deny that those who worked to put him in power hoped he'd be the symbol, the macho and rebellious cowboy who wiped the scar of Vietnam from the American consciousness? Politics owes a deep debt to symbolism and acknowledging that is being realistic not idealistic.

What Can We Do?

Augmentation, surge, or escalation. Take your pick. They all mean one thing - more death and destruction for our servicemen and women, for Iraqi civilians, and for America's morality. I was impressed by Senator Ted Kennedy's speech in advance of Bush's wordplay, and I especially liked that he referred to his vote against the war as his most important in 44 years in the Senate.
From threatening lawyers who provide pro bono services for the unconstitutionally imprisoned at Guantanamo to reading our mail to demanding the financial records of suspect citizens, this administration continues to strike blow after blow against our civil liberties - due process, habeus corpus, privacy. Even when they lose, they win.

Take the case of Phil Kline, former Attorney General of Kansas. For those of you not familiar with Kansas politics, this is the man who demanded - but has not yet obtained - the medical records of 90 women who either had had a child or an abortion. He also took false credit for the capture of a serial rapist, insisting he had forwarded the subsequent abortion and adoption records of two of the rapist's victims to the District Attorney's office. The DA strongly challenge Mr. Kline's assertion of his role in the capture.

Kansans stopped Kline's 2006 re-election by electing Democrat Paul Morrison, former Republican and DA for Johnson County. So what do the Johnson County Precinct Republicans do? They appointed Kline to Morrison's vacated post. Now, Mr, Kline can get those medical records and invade the privacy of 90 women while he makes $50,000 more than he did as AG.

How is it that we are powerless to stop them?

Military and intelligence reports indicate this administration's actions have made us more not less vulnerable to attack. Military and intelligence personnel who are on the side of the President say this. It's not leftist, East Coast intellectuals saying this - it is people who have been on the side of the President.

I don't know how to stop it but I do feel better when I express my opinion. I've called Senator Clinton's and Senator Schumer's offices and asked them how they plan to deal with the President's immoral actions. I'm going to join the March on Washington on January 27.

At the end of An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore, says "If you believe in prayer, pray that people have the courage to change." (If you haven't seen this movie, take the pledge and see it. The fact that Gore gracefully handled a stolen election and turned to spreading the message about respecting our environment reflects a dignity that is missing in most our politician's today.)

I believe in the power of intention and of prayer and I believe in Gore's statement that political will is a renewable resource, too.

Behind the Times

Speaking of Washington, I just recently watched the First Season of The West Wing. I had only seen one or two repeated episodes. Wow, did I miss out - it's amazing how prescient the series was in 1999 on so many levels. I am eager to see the rest of the series.

The Last Word

I end with a quotation given to me by another old friend in Washington who will also remain nameless for privacy's sake. His journey has taken him on a different path, and most would agree, a more exciting path, that has been tempered by the realism of politics. He passionately believes he can contribute to making the world a better place and he asked that I consider these words from Theodore Roosevelt when thinking about a career in government or politics.

"In conclusion, then, the man with a university education, is in honor, bound to take an active part in our political life, and to do his full duty as a citizen by helping his fellow citizens to the extent of his power in the exercise of the rights of self-government. He is bound to rank action far above criticism, and to understand that the man deserving of credit is the man who actually does the things, even though imperfectly, and not the man who confines himself to talking about how they ought to be done. He is bound to have a high ideal and to strive to realize it ... Finally, his work must be disinterested and honest, and it must be given without regard to his own success or failure, and without regard to the effect it has upon his own fortunes; and while he must show the virtues of uprightness and tolerance and gentleness, he must also show the sterner virtues of courage, resolution, and hardihood, and of desire to war with merciless effectiveness against the existence of wrong."