Howard Dean 2004, Progress, and You: Beyond Obama’s Election

The article below was published on The Better Blog (itsnotbetter.com)

Back in 2004 I remember watching CSPAN videos of Howard Dean’s speeches from my room at University of Cambridge, where I was studying abroad. I had never been so inspired by a politician in my life. Not Gore, not Clinton, and certainly not Bush Sr. (whom I had remembered most recently from his TV clip placed in the film The Big Lebowski: “this aggression will not stand”).

What made Howard Dean so inspiring? He spoke with straightforward passion. It had an air of truth that had not existed in other politicians. But perhaps most importantly: Dean demanded, at the end of each speech, that it was not he who had the power to make change in the country, “it’s you.”

After then getting bored by solid, respectable, yet somnolent speeches by John Kerry, we were reminded of the power of a speech by then little known Barack Obama at Kerry’s convention. Obama inspired thousands by appealing to the better human emotions: hope, pride, and a sense of camaraderie.

Obama famously said at his Super Tuesday victory speech: “we are the change that we seek.” Then, later he implores: “Let’s go to work.” It sounds a little like Dean-lite. It’s progressive, it realizes that we are part of the process, but it does not ask us to be central to the change (rather, it simply states that we are just that). But perhaps Obama is treading lightly – perhaps he has learned that to go too strong might tempt the press to go on strike against him (the way they did in 2004 against Dean, opening the door for a much less energizing candidate).

I want progress, and Obama - a progressive leader - may win in November; so why am I not satisfied?

Maybe it’s because the changes that this country needs go beyond today’s political barriers; that for real change to happen we need a new set of boundaries.

One example: The Second Amendment. It was made to protect the people from a government that could become corrupted. Now people have guns to hunt and “protect” themselves from other potentially crazy and paranoid citizens. Fully automatic compact firearms didn’t exist back then; so why don’t we clarify that in our laws?

Another example: the Electoral College. Didn’t this mess us up in 2000? It gave one state too much power. Ironically, the way that the federal government interacts with the state governments in general probably needs some major reforming.

We need to do something. So far we have not done enough. We cannot accept the status quo. We cannot accept the violence that our country performs abroad and allows domestically. Howard Dean was right – we have the power: you have the power. A new generation has to step up to the plate and start making substantial reforms.

Hope and belief are good, but maybe not good enough; as a powerful woman once said: change is only a word unless it is followed by effective action. Real change requires more than hope; it requires you.