THINKING FOR OURSELVES

A New Politics

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, June 22-28, 2008

Barack Obama’s June 16th rally in Detroit brought a message of hope, faith and vision. It was a Motown moment that showed how much this country is changing. It resonated with a new kind of politics, asking us to recognize the “core value” that “change comes from the bottom up.

“If we are honest, we know our problems are not just the result of one person or one party but go back decades.”

Obama challenged us to acknowledge that we have all played a part in creating these problems. We have allowed a politics of “what’s in it for me” to dominate. We became “cynical, stopped paying attention and just demanded more. We allowed Washington to divide us along racial and religious lines. We allowed wedge issues to come between us.”

“But you are waking up,” the Illinois Senator said. “You’ve decided to do something different. This time we are coming together, young and old, black and white, Hispanic and Indian, city and suburb, gay and straight, to reclaim the possibilities of America.”

“If you are ready to change,” he said, “we can create a brighter future.”

Speaking to the many young people in the crowd, Obama said, “Change can only happen if you decide you are ready for change. I say to you young people, we shape our own destiny. It is always the young people who bring about the biggest change.”

This is the moment, he said, to choose between “cynicism or faith, hope or fear.”

The event was also a lesson in a politics of respect. Al Gore began by saying he was here to speak “as a citizen of the US and as a citizen of the world because the outcome of this election affects the future of our planet.” He said that he wanted a few words with his fellow Democrats about the importance of the hard-fought primary that had engaged the most “inspiring group of men and a women” in a process that “reinvigorated democracy and rekindled our spirit.”

Chiding the audience for its booing of Senator Clinton, Gore said that it was time to honor our highest values. As he mentioned Senator John McCain, the audience booed again. Saying he was glad he had brought the issue up, Gore, and later Obama, stressed the importance of restoring respect to politics and talked about how we can disagree without demonizing one another. This seemed like more than a fake effort at party unity. It seemed a genuine desire to ask more of ourselves and to make this campaign into an opportunity to revitalize democracy.

The people around me at the Joe Louis Arena said they were at the rally to be part of history. Justin Williams, 17, said he came because “I’m an Obama supporter and this is history going on.” Tamika Anderson, 25, said she was a Barack supporter because “he came to Detroit, not just Michigan. A lot of candidates come to Michigan, but they don’t come to Detroit. He came, so I’m here.” Dennis May, a teacher in Hazel Park, said, “I came because of my wife and kids. I want my kids to see history.”

We all saw history Monday night. We saw a candidate willing to raise hard questions. We saw a man willing to talk about a new, green future.

In a state and city where it would have been easy to talk about the standard Democratic Party demands for health care, education, cheap energy, and jobs, we witnessed a call to create new possibilities for ourselves and our children.