my response to CHANGE
Last night I was privileged enough to attend a Barack Obama rally for change. The evening began with a relatively easy drive through the downtown streets of St. Louis... only to have us turn the corner and see the line for the stadium surprisingly LONG!! (later we found out there were over 20,000 people in attendance...i took the picture below...)
For some reason or another, I was under the impression that when the doors open at 7pm, the speech would begin shortly after... at the most between a half hour to an hour... well, not this time... we were waiting for a little over two hours!!! The worst part about it was the people involved in this event kept leading us on, and making the us believe that Barack was about to talk. Around 8 or so, the stadium was silenced, as a high school marching band lolly-gagged around banging drums and clanging cymbals... they resounded terribly in such an open arena, that anyone standing over twenty feet away was forced to listen to a terrible reverbish drum line... After this slightly annoying group was put to rest, I was certain the event would officially begin. Sure enough, a spokesperson for the Obama '08 Campaign stood up and briefly spoke about the current affairs of Missouri and how the Democratic party was thriving...
Ok Obama is about to speak, or so I thought... But another person arose to the stage to sing the national anthem... when I think about the national anthem, I always really believe each American seems to have their own version of the song. Everyone likes to embellish certain notes and sharply cut off others... whenever we see giant sports events, no two singers ever sing this song the same... this lady was no exception. She was determined to lead everyone who was singing along with her (aloud or in their head) into mass confusion about where to start, stop, and use freestyle...
So after all these pre-game deceptive appearances, around 9:10pm, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill gave a brief intro about Obama, calling him a "skinny kid from Chicago"... and FINALLY at 9:15 Barack Obama took the stage!!
One of the things I like about Obama is how respectful he seems to be. He's in the midst of a heated battle with Hillary Clinton, and never once says anything about how we should vote for him over her. He also never said anything negative about the other party's candidates... he seemed to show respect for his competition...
As Barack began to talk he seemed confident and full of hope. He kept talking about his hope for a better America. He was very comfortable and in charge of the stage... He knew most everyone was there to show him support, and he gladly said all he could to strengthen people's confidence in his ability.
In Barack's address to St. Louis last night, he mainly focused his talk on health care and education. His health care plan aims to give the same health care that he may have as president, to every American. As one who wasn't raised in the best of conditions, he wants to see health care available and affordable to everyone. In regards to education, he want's that to be a large part of America. He said teachers should teach us things we should know, and not teach according to a standard test (ACT, SAT). He wants to raise teachers wages and give them more money to buy things they will NEED and USE in the classroom. He used an example of teachers who have to personally buy pencils, paper, etc... because family's (especially in the poorer areas) can;t afford to buy a ton for their children;s education. He said colleges are expensive. Americans shouldn't be denied the right to have a college education, so he wants to provide scholarship money. He said they will give $4,000 to any college student, BUT in exchange they have to serve the community. That seems like a great way to develop a stronger community and also help students in their financial situations... (unfortunately he did not speak about taxes...)
He also briefly spoke about environmental issues, saying "I can stop global warming" Hmmm...........
One thing I didn't particularly care for, was when Barack spoke of war. He said "I will have no hesitation in attacking any of our enemies" He also was talking about how he will interact and be willing to talk with leaders of countries that we don't get along with... I'm not fully sure of my position on these issues, but the first one especially turns me off... On one hand Barack talks of helping, community, hope, etc... and on the other hand talks about killing our enemies???
He ended the night saying he believes in hope, change, and a better way... and I would have to agree, I believe in a better way of life too...
