convention

WHAT WE DO

/ janpriddyoregon / 1 Comment

Former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, shot in the head in 2011 as she held a constituent event, set the message for the DNC last evening: “Today, I struggle with speech, but I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words. We are at a crossroads. We can choose to let this continue or we can act.” She implored listeners to vote. 

In a somber speech, former President Barack Obama warned that, in this election, American democracy is at stake. He outlined the strengths he sees in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, then warned people not to let “this president and those in power… those who benefit from keeping things the way they are… [to] take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy…. What we do echoes through the generations.” 

It was a powerful speech—one for the ages, really—and it set up the night’s final speaker, California Senator Kamala Harris, now the Democratic candidate for vice president. 

Harris tied Obama’s theme to her own story as the American-born child of immigrants, reminding us that America is a “a beloved community where all are welcome.”

But not everyone sees America that way. “I think we need to ask ourselves, why don’t they want us to vote?” she said. “Why is there so much effort to silence our voices? And the answer is because when we vote, things change. When we vote, things get better…. Years from now, this moment will have passed. And our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and ask us: Where were you when the stakes were so high? … And we will tell them. We will tell them, not just how we felt. We will tell them what we did.”

—Heather Cox Richardson

“Don’t forget: Joe and Kamala can win 3 million more votes and still lose,” Hillary Clinton said. “Take it from me.”

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AWP

/ janpriddyoregon / Leave a comment

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There are beautiful and interesting places all over the world. This is mine.

So yes, I am going. I am going to the national conference today, just for a few hours. Originally, because it is in Portland and has not been here in ages and because I know many people who will be attending and serving on panels (though specifics were hard to come by unless an individual posted them) and because, you know, I realize I should go, I was going for three days. Then I thought we would dive in twice, over the Coast Range and through the woods, but no.

The truth is that conferences overwhelm me. I am always glad once there, but . . .

It was two of our grandchildren who drove over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. They arrived in time to keep me home for all but one day. (And I will not post photos I did not take, but it was a really wonderful visit. We played Uno and made jewelry out of shells found on the beach, and I made waffles.)

The Burnside Bridge is down for repairs and Gary had planned to drive that way. We disagreed about how far the Oregon Convention Center is from Powell’s City of Books (no one should miss that). Gary thought it was miles, I thought it was closer. Google Maps suggests a 26-minute walk, 1.2 miles. I will wear my walking shoes just to get around the convention center. I used to take students to Powell’s on unofficial field trips.

So today. I hope to finally meet Allison Williams in person, and to visit with Bette Husted and Molly Gloss, and why didn’t I email Felicity? Jeannette will be busy and I have not heard from others. This is the disadvantage of leaving Facebook last month.