Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919
The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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10-June-2019:
Tulsi Gabbard and The Spirit of Aloha
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Tulsi Gabbard made her announcement speech on January 11, 2019. Watching the video of her speech I was favorably impressed. Among other things, I like her delivery, quiet and calm, but still firm and confident.
She ticks off a number of issues such as supporting Medicare for all, protecting the environment and especially the oceans, protecting citizens from Wall Street banks, big pharma, and insurance companies, and opposing private prisons.
She stresses the need to stop giving advantages to the rich and to fight against greed and corruption in our public life. She accuses Trump of promising to “drain the swamp” but then creating a “cesspool of corruption” instead.
Beyond the individual issues major themes of the speech are peace, the virtues veterans learn, and the spirit of Aloha.
Tulsi opposes regime change wars and promises to meet with anyone, friend or foe, to promote peace. She says the United States has wasted trillions of dollars on wars and she is determined to stop that.
She says veterans learn to embody principles like service, dignity, honor, and respect, and she wants to bring those principles back to the White House.
I think the most powerful part of the speech is where she describes the “spirit of aloha.” She says this means “a spirit of respect and love for one another and for our country.” This seems like a refreshing change from the insults and bullying rhetoric we so often hear from the White House now!
At one point Tulsi calls fellow veterans her “brothers and sisters.” At another point she calls ALL Americans her “brothers and sisters.” Brothers and sisters! Imagine a president who talks like that!
Part of being moderate is to bring people with different ideas together, like brothers and sisters. For a moderate Democrat there is a lot to like in Tulsi's announcement speech. Let's get her on the debate stage and keep listening.
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Washington: A Life
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