President Clinton's Ubuntu Vision - We're All in this Together

For those of you who are new to my blog, or don't have the sense to read every post...please read this blog about the concept of ubuntu before continuing.

Now that you've been introduced to this concept.  I want to talk a little about ubunutu philosophy outlined in the speech by President Bill Clinton last night at the Democratic National Convention.  Okay, so he didn't actually talk about ubuntu, but some of the ideas he mentioned were in the realm of the ubuntu concept.  Think about these two quotes:

"A person is a person through other persons." - Desmond Tutu

"we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'" - President Clinton

Can you see how this philosophy could easily be translated into the ubuntu concept?  The idea that we each don't only worry about ourselves and let everyone else be damned, but we are here to help each other, and we improve by giving each other a hand.  Here are some more quotes from the speech that I thought fit into the same concept:

"When times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world is cooperation."

"President Obama's approach embodies the values, the ideas, and the direction America has to take to build a 21st-century version of the American dream, a nation of shared opportunities, shared responsibilities, shared prosperity, a shared sense of community."

Say what you want, but I believe the United States is a nation founded on the idea of ubuntu.  Maybe not in so many words, but in the spirit of what our founding fathers created.  We have had to struggle and fight to live up to that spirit.  We have had to abolish slavery, fight for women's rights, fight for civil rights, and we still fight to live up to the spirit of ubuntu today.  Sometimes the fight is against our own prejudice.  Sometimes it's a struggle with our greed.  Sometimes it's a struggle to include those who believe and live differently than we do - even in so innocent an area as who they love.  Through all of this struggle, we will prevail.  As President Clinton said:

"For more than 200 years, through every crisis, we've always come back. People have predicted our demise ever since George Washington was criticized for being a mediocre surveyor with a bad set of wooden, false teeth. And so far every single person that's bet against America has lost money, because we always come back.  We've come through every fire a little stronger and a little better. And we do it because, in the end, we decide to champion the cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor, the cause of forming a more perfect union."

Romney/Ryan Promises Celebrated Overseas

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan announce in their speeches at the Republican National Convention that they will create 12 million new jobs in the next four years.

In related news...celebrations erupted throughout countries like China and India as the people recieved news of investments expected to bring 12 million new jobs to their countries. 

Proof Republicans Change the Rules to Benefit the Rich White Guys

I find it wonderful that so many conservatives are discovering what we have been saying about Republicans is true.  I've had a couple of conservative friends post articles about how the Republicans at their national convention completely changed or ignored their own rules to do what they thought would benefit them the most.  They did this at the expense of the minority in their party that supports Ron Paul.  Watch this video of the corruption at the RNC.  You have conservatives talking like liberals about how these people will do nothing but create a corrupt environment that is run by a few rich elites who make their own rules.

I particularly loved the guy holding a Romney sign that phsycially blocked the Paul supporters and the complete disregard for the voting system.  "All those in favor will signify by saying aye.  Aye!  Those opposed, no.  NO!  (Easily as loud if not louder.)  In the opinion of the chair the ayes have it."  Wow.  Don't even try to show any kind of integrity.  Can you imagine what the founding fathers would have said about that display?  There isn't even any point in holding a primary at this point.  Just let the rich, white guys decide who the delegate is and force it on the rest of the party. 

Well color me surprised!  Republicans ignored rules, changed them when that wouldn't work...all to marginalize a minority in preference to a rich white guy?  No...never!  Give me a break.  That's what these people have been doing for decades.  If this is what they will do to their own people...what do you think they will do to the average American when they are in control?  That's truly a scary thought.  Personally, I'm encouraging conservatives to write in Paul's name on their ballots.  I would love to see how many votes they can take away from Romney.  Show the Republicans what happens when you take the rights away from a group of people.  And when we're celebrating another term for Obama in November...I will have no problem pointing back to the RNC as the point that Republicans lost themselves the election.