Thursday, August 28, 2008
On history and narrives and Obama
As we will be reminded often, today is the 45th anniversary of Marin Luther Kings ‘I have a Dream’ speech, a suitable coincidence of dates for the first Afro-American nominee for the US Presidency (by a major party) to make his acceptance speech.
Worth remembering how the ‘race issue’ tore apart the narratives of both ‘Major Parties’ in the USA. The Civil Rights Act (enforcing the right to vote for example) passed the US Congress with the support of half the Senators and Congresspeople of the then-ruling Democratic Party. And two –thirds of the Republicans voted in favour. Roy Jenkins attended the 1968 funeral of Martin Luther King in Atlanta, walking through the city streets in the company of a solid phalanx of Republican Senators, Governors, and Members of Congress, who linked arms and sang ‘We Shall overcome’. Nothing comparable was structured by Democrats at the event, it appears.
How ‘The Party Of Lincoln’ rejected this heritage and helped purge the Democratic Party of its racist heritage by taking over that constituency through the ‘Southern Strategy’ is a fascinating study in political narrative manipulation and the evolution of power bases.
So we now have a Democratic nominee embodying part of the Dream.
Worth remembering how the ‘race issue’ tore apart the narratives of both ‘Major Parties’ in the USA. The Civil Rights Act (enforcing the right to vote for example) passed the US Congress with the support of half the Senators and Congresspeople of the then-ruling Democratic Party. And two –thirds of the Republicans voted in favour. Roy Jenkins attended the 1968 funeral of Martin Luther King in Atlanta, walking through the city streets in the company of a solid phalanx of Republican Senators, Governors, and Members of Congress, who linked arms and sang ‘We Shall overcome’. Nothing comparable was structured by Democrats at the event, it appears.
How ‘The Party Of Lincoln’ rejected this heritage and helped purge the Democratic Party of its racist heritage by taking over that constituency through the ‘Southern Strategy’ is a fascinating study in political narrative manipulation and the evolution of power bases.
So we now have a Democratic nominee embodying part of the Dream.
More history of the song than you ever thought you needed is here.
Lest hope that the burden of historic expectation does not crush Obama.
Lest hope that the burden of historic expectation does not crush Obama.
Labels: Martin Luther King, Obama
Comments:
Is Lorin Hawes still around? The famous boomerang designer had the 'association' as one of his wacky projects, I thought. Perhaps if he is still in Mudgeeraba you could ask him, and get the word onto the nets one way or another.
Cheers!
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Cheers!
