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This column first appeared on HuffingtonPost.com. Comments not included here.
Forty years ago my family was taking its annual vacation, which in
the summer of 1968 was a trip to the Democratic National Convention,
where my father was an Arkansas delegate. We loaded up our station
wagon, as we always did for our summer road trips across the USA, and
my parents, Bill and Bobbye, drove us from Batesville, Arkansas to
Chicago. Once there, we checked into the Palmer House, which we made
our headquarters to enjoy the city, attend the convention, and stay out
of the way of the violent clashes between protestors and police. Bill
and Bobbye weren’t going to let their children get close enough to get
their heads bashed in. We were there to elect and support the next
Democratic presidential nominee and have some fun.
We saw some action in Lincoln Park from the safety of our car. We once
had to evacuate the hotel because of a stink bomb, but like everyone
else across the country, we watched most of the juicy coverage on TV.
I wore Hubert H. Humphrey paper dresses and boater hats and anything
else the campaign was selling that was groovy and in. Humphrey was a
progressive politician for his time, a great advocate of human and
civil rights. I was proud to do it. He was my father’s man.
Being a natural-born bomb-thrower myself, I recognize the temptation
and even the need for the shake-up of our country that existed then.
Later, I became more involved. I voted for George McGovern in my first
election and wore a bracelet for an American soldier MIA in Vietnam for
years. But, as we all now know, those Chicago demonstrations by the
hippies, Yippies, SDS, and Black Panthers members effectively assured
the narrow election of Richard Nixon rather than prevented it.
So the worm turns, and I recognize the much-needed shake-up of our
country at this moment in our history. Who doesn’t? We’ve sunk to the
bottom of the national and international barrel under George W. Bush’s
presidency. But forty years after that important 1968 Democratic
Convention, it’s possible that we wouldn’t have Obama’s highly charged
candidacy without the destructive bungling and terror of the Bush
administration’s last eight years.
This election cycle is a defining moment for the Democratic Party and a
clarion call for our country. This change that we require is a
180-degree turn, and Barack Obama’s leadership is the first true
movement into the 21st Century and its new politics that put us back on
track and in a global leadership position. We must not screw this
up—or where will we be?
To Hillary Clinton’s diehard supporters: If you truly want to see
women uplifted and put in the positions where they should be, let go of
the past and embrace the future of Obama’s presidency. We Democrats
(and Independents) are truly lucky to have such a candidate, who can
nimbly beat John McCain if we all stand together.
To the Democratic Party and its members: Please learn to speak the
language of your brothers and sisters who live across this wide expanse
of country that’s ours, red state or blue. We aren’t alike. So what?
Embrace our diversity. Be inclusive. Be true to the beliefs you say
you have for the tired, hungry, and poor—and understand their point of
view. Put yourself in their place and where they’re coming from.
Don’t intellectualize yourselves out of the circle of most American’s
lives—just because you think you know better.
My father was a Yellow Dog Democrat, and he was extremely proud of
that. He was an uncommon man who listened to, understood, and showed
respect to common men no matter what they did. He gave them dignity,
and this is our job too.
We must open our hearts and minds to embrace one another. Communicate
with one another—and take this power away from the Republicans who
trick voters into thinking they’ll do the best they can for them, when
what they’ll really do is enrich the corporate and deep pockets over
these voters every time.
I went to a Democratic get-together in Paris and the moderator was a
young man who obviously loved politics. But I was disturbed by the
fact that he didn’t seem to know his own party. He didn’t know who his
party was before the Reagan Democrats got stolen away. This smart
moderator asked if there were any conservatives in the Democratic
Party.
There were plenty. We just forgot how to communicate with them. To
speak the same language. To connect with one another. Let’s remember
before