Good for Barack Obama for deciding to accept the Democratic Party nomination for President this August in a huge outdoor football stadium in Denver.
Stadiums are usually thought of nowadays as platforms for sports and celebrity concerts. But they have a history that hearkens back to the very roots of democracy.
In ancient Athens, the birthplace of democracy as far as we know, the ideal size for a democratic state was thought to be the number of citizens who could sit in a public arena or stadium and debate the issues.
Ancient Athens put Socrates to death - they had no First Amendment back then - but not every aspect of our democratic system is better than theirs. In place of the direct democracy of Athens, we elect representatives who debate and vote on our behalves. Rather than seeing our speakers in person, we see them on television, where members of the press - another kind of representative - ask them questions for us.
YouTube has taken some of the press out of this process, and put videos in our own hands (or, at least, laptops and cell phones), but we still do not get to see candidates, or each other, in person, as we all pursue the democratic process.
Obama's decision to move his acceptance speech from inside the convention to Invesco Field at Mile High, in Denver, is a powerful and important symbolic move. Like JFK, who also accepted his party's nomination in 1960 in the big outdoor Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Obama's nomination in Denver will be a crucial step in moving our democracy a good mile higher in responsiveness to the people than it is today.
3 comments:
Does that mean that John McCain is going to be fed to the lions?
I have a silly question. What if it rains? Wouldn't that backfire horribly?
I hear McCain has suggested the GOP follow suit and will now be making his acceptance speech in front of the fixins bar at the Minneapolis Arby's. Now, THAT'S straight talk I can believe in. The goodness of McCain and Horsey Sauce to boot!!!
Mike - don't distract us with such practical questions :)
A little more seriously - I read somewhere that there's only an 8-percent chance of rain that time of year ... pretty good odds...
Yeah, Denver's not famous for its frequent precipitation, but when it comes down, it comes down. Fingers crossed for a beautiful, clear Rocky Mountain acceptance speech. Colorado will definitely go Blue in 2008.
Can you see it? Obama adrift in a sea of cheering Democrats, waving color coordinated signage and chanting "Yes. We. Can." The rockies majestically towering just beyond the stadium walls.
On the other side, John McCain in front of the "fixins" with BBQ sauce on the corner of his mouth and a handful of puzzled Minnesotans hording pickles behind him wondering "whut the hellz goin' on" while staring into the camera covering the event. That's change I can believe in, and for 99 cents with a Double Extra Large Coke to boot!!
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