Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Two Historic Tuesday Speeches

Yesterday certainly wasn't a boring Tuesday.  Two important speeches with the potential for enormous long-term impact were delivered.  President Obama fully embraced the language and message of the Occupy Wall Street movement in his economic speech in Osawatomie, Kansas.  Not only is this one of the few times a politician has even recognized the economic forces behind OWS, this speech is a major public policy affirmation of the need for America to take serious aim at addressing the causes of our current financial woes.  He frequently cited statistics that Occupiers have referenced, decrying the disparity of wealth in this country and the increasing inability of hard working Americans to pursue dreams available to other recent generations.

As if this speech weren't noteworthy enough, another speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton easily topped it for global import and potential impact.  Secretary Clinton was speaking before the United Nations in recognition of International Human Rights Day at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.  Her remarks laid before the world community in words clear and strong that the rights of LGBT people are human rights.  She articulated in no uncertain terms that all nations should address LGBT rights with the same diligence that has been given since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to women, to indigenous people, to children, to people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.

In years to come, these two speeches may be remembered as watershed moments in these two movements.  Both give the progressive community great reason for hope.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You wrote that you usually do not approve anonymous posts, especially if you judge the contents to be off topic or excessively argumentative. So what have you got now? A sleepy blog, with very few comments or no comments to your postings.

Rev. Jeff Liebmann said...

I have actually only chosen the option to decline a posting twice. Both times, I felt the comments used language that did not welcome dialogue and brought issues to the table that were not relevant to the conversation.

I am happy to engage in discourse. However, I find it discouraging when people wish to be heard without identifying themselves. My intention in blogging is to express opinions and encourage a free and responsible exchange of ideas, I find that difficult to do, however, when one side remains anonymous and unaccountable.

I'm perfectly content with a "sleepy blog," as I have no aspirations to internet notoriety. As a minister, I expect that my postings will often be read and reflected upon without the reader needing to comment.