Obama's official nomination

Is the American dream dying? There's no question more pivotal to our future as a country than this question right now. If you don't trust Obama, for whatever reason, just listen to Joe Biden. If you don't trust the Clintons, just listen to Joe Biden. Who can question the character of this man? He has a proven record in American politics, and he has a proven character among men of virtue. A family man, a son of the working class, this is just one more example of what makes this country great. If you don't trust Obama, then trust Joe Biden. Of all the speeches given today and in the previous days of the convention, his speech possessed a personal aspect which reached further than the political rhetoric which it espoused.

Biden asked us in his speech today, "remember when the world used to trust us?" While many Americans ignore the reality of our interconnectedness in the global market, we cannot shy away from the implicit truth in this question. As our position as the world's leader in the economy becomes more tenuous with the meteoric rise of the Chinese economy, we must stay true to the values that made this country great in every other way.

We are a young country. Let's keep that in mind. Should we really throw in the towel by assuming the system is as good as its going to be? Conservativism is the delusion that things were better in the past than they could be in the future. This assumption defies the lessons of history. If history has taught us anything is that with every event that takes place, if we so choose, we can learn from it and build upon it.

We are obviously at a turning point in our history as a nation. A recent article in the new york times begged the question as to whether or not 'Mr. Obama’s success [will] further the notion that the long struggle for racial equality has finally been won?' The article discusses fears by many African American leaders that this historical election, if won, will cause many Americans to assume the former assertion to be true. While some may come to this conclusion, we must also look to the popular discourse that goes on among opponents to the Obama presidency on the basest of levels. The obvious answer would be no.

Race is just one of the many issues that still affect the character of our country. While electing an African American president will do much to curb the effects of a racist past in this country, there is still much to be done about the effects of inequality in poor urban communities, regardless of race. All of the issues are addressed by both parties and both can be dismissed as the meaningless discourse of a system out of touch with its populace. Is it really the political discourse out of touch with the populace or the populace out of touch with its political system?

One thing remained clear tonight, there is a group of people in this country that believe in changing this country for the better. Whether the proposed changes are far reaching and earnest remains to be seen. For the moment, however, it is enough to know that the potential of our democracy might at least be enough to point us back in the right direction.