Dennis Kucinich (page 2)
He wasted no time in getting the crowd fired up. His first comments led to what was the running theme of his speech: "War is not inevitable. Peace is inevitable."
The crowd responded with the first of many standing ovations (I lost count).
Kucinich laid out clearly his perspective: That the U.S. is at a crossroads. There are two types of thinking--that war is the answer, and that peace is the answer.
He didn't sound like a hippie saying it, either, which is quite a trick. Here's a quote from another speech (I couldn't write and shoot these pictures at the same time):
I
offer these brief remarks today as a prayer for our country, with love
of democracy, as a celebration of our country. With love for our
country.With hope for our country. With a belief that the light of
freedom cannot be extinguished as long as it is inside of us. With a
belief that freedom rings resoundingly in a democracy each time we
speak freely. With the understanding that freedom stirs the human heart
and fear stills it. With the belief that a free people cannot walk in
fear and faith at the same time.
With the understanding that there is a deeper truth expressed in the unity of the United States. That implicate in the union of our country is the union of all people. That all people are essentially one. That the world is interconnected not only on the material level of economics, trade, communication, and transportation, but innerconnected through human consciousness, through the human heart, through the heart of the world, through the simply expressed impulse and yearning to be and to breathe free. I offer this prayer for America.
With the understanding that there is a deeper truth expressed in the unity of the United States. That implicate in the union of our country is the union of all people. That all people are essentially one. That the world is interconnected not only on the material level of economics, trade, communication, and transportation, but innerconnected through human consciousness, through the human heart, through the heart of the world, through the simply expressed impulse and yearning to be and to breathe free. I offer this prayer for America.
Kucinich had us all mesmerized. Here was a sensible man saying all these...sensible things. A politician, of all people, whose views actually represented ours. Like everyone else, probably, I couldn't help but get a bit high from the experience.
It wasn't just the force of his personality or his spirited delivery. It was the words he said. Words that are forbidden in the mainstream media, and anathema most Democratic politicians. It was as if we had to go to a church to hear someone speak so sacrilegiously.
He even dared speak about the erosion of civil liberties that we are currently suffering. This is from that other speech, but it pretty much sums up his theme on this issue:
We must ask why should America put aside guarantees of constitutional justice?
How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right to prompt and public trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment?
How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right to prompt and public trial?
How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment?
He even, not kidding here, sang a few lines from the "Star Spangled Banner." He won't be quitting his day job anytime soon, but still, you could tell he meant it. I wish a lot of the pro-warriors I encounter would have seen Kucinich speak. They'd understand how opposition to war can come from a deep love of one's country.
I don't know much about writing about politicians. This is the first Presidential candidate I have ever seen campaign. While I have no point of direct comparison, I did admire Kucinich's speaking skills.
But what assists his ease with speaking to this crowd, no doubt, is that he actually believes what he is saying. He is an utterly unashamed idealist.
He spoke of what it will take for the country to reverse its course, a segment of his speech that climaxed with his shouting, "Courage, America! Courage, America! Courage, America!"
I can't remember ever hearing a politician say such a thing. He then contrasted that courage with what is driving the country today: fear.
From that other speech:
Let us pray that we
have the courage to replace the images of death which haunt us, the
layers of images of September the Eleventh, faded into images of
patriotism, spliced into images of military mobilization, jump cut into
images of our secular celebrations of the World Series, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, the Olympics, the strobic flashes which touch our deepest fears, let us replace those images with the work of human relations, reaching out to people, helping our own citizens here at home, lifting the plight of the poor everywhere. That is the America which has the ability to rally the support of the world. That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom.
images of our secular celebrations of the World Series, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, the Olympics, the strobic flashes which touch our deepest fears, let us replace those images with the work of human relations, reaching out to people, helping our own citizens here at home, lifting the plight of the poor everywhere. That is the America which has the ability to rally the support of the world. That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom.
