A Big Slice of Freedom

Did you see the Democratic National Convention?

Dr. Errington Thompson is a critical care trauma surgeon, author, and talk show host. Listen to the Errington Thompson Show, available through Podcast and download at: www.whereistheoutrage.net
by Errington C. Thompson, MD –

What was that?

I have seen these political conventions dating back to the mid-’70s. All of them, every single one of them, was a snoozefest. Sure, a few individual speeches stood out as outstanding, but they were in a background of boredom.

This Democratic National Convention was a lot of things, but it was not boring. Even the sleep-inducing roll call was worth watching. Roll Call is where all the 50 states plus the six United States territories tell the world how the delegates have voted. (I am falling asleep just typing this.) Even toothpicks cannot keep your eyeballs open for roll call.

Injecting Fun into the DNC

To mix things up, the Democrats hired somebody named DJ Cassity. I have never heard of him. He was dressed in a democratic blue suit with a wide-brimmed Cuban hat. He was wearing sunglasses, of course. He was bringing energy as he stood before two turntables and a microphone.

He started playing the hits. He was playing tunes as they were introducing one state after another. If you are both a music buff and a political junky, you could figure out the connection between the song and the state that was being announced. The state of Alabama was, of course, introduced by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s famous tune, Sweet Home, Alabama. Arkansas was introduced with Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop. Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, and when he ran for president in 1992, Don’t Stop was the theme song of his presidential campaign.

Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida. Therefore, DJ Cassity played I Won’t Back Down when Florida was introduced. The roll call was ridiculously fun. This was the Democratic National Convention in a nutshell. It was entertaining through and through.

If you are progressive or a progressive-leaning independent, there is no way you could not watch a portion of this convention and not feel uplifted. This was a Hollywood production. The speakers were outstanding. It started with Day #1 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden. The love that poured out in that arena for the president was overwhelming. Then, he delivered a fabulous speech.

On day #2, the keynote speaker was President Barack Obama. He followed his wife, Michelle Obama, who was as good as, if not better than, the former president. I cannot do her speech justice. All I can say is that she made you laugh, cry, and jump for joy. On day #3, vice president nominee Tim Waltz was marvelous.

Because the Mainstream Media cannot help themselves, Kamala Harris’s speech was billed as a make-or-break moment. They painted it as the most critical speech in recent memory. Because Harris did not go through the “normal” nomination process, “no one knew who she was.” This was nonsense. She is the Vice President of the United States. If you didn’t know who Kamala Harris was, it was because you were not paying attention.

Kamala Harris delivered the perfect speech. She covered all of the points that she had to cover. She briefly introduced herself to those who had not been paying attention. She covered all the essential topics, both foreign and domestic. She contrasted her record as a prosecutor to Donald Trump’s record as a convicted felon. It was masterful.

And she covered the touchy subject of the War in Gaza. She clearly stated that the war must end, the hostages needed to be released, and the Palestinian people needed to have self-determination. She was strong. She was focused. She looked presidential.

Post-Convention Bump

I do not want to overstate the obvious. The Republican National Convention (RNC) was a big load of nothing. They hated the Democrats and everyone who was not on board with Trump. They got no momentum from their convention, and the polls showed no bump in favorability ratings after the RNC.

The Democrats, on the other hand, were full of hope, enthusiasm, and momentum. Every single poll I have seen reveals that the Democrats did get at least a five-point boost in favorability. I would caution everyone to focus on the task and ignore the polls. The task is to elect Democrats, starting at the top with Harris/Walz and continuing to the very end of the ballot.

More Foreign Hacking

The Trump campaign announced that it had been hacked. When I first heard the news, I started laughing—belly-laughing. When Russia hacked the DNC back in 2016, the Republicans did nothing. They refused to pass legislation to protect national campaigns from hacking. They stopped any national attempt at confronting the problem.

Now, the fates of the Trump campaign have been flipped. Several news outlets have received internal memos that were hacked from the Trump campaign. So far, the documents that have been released are relatively benign. More damaging, juicy information will be released closer to the election. This is why doing the right thing the first time is essential. If they had done what is right for the country, the Trump campaign could have avoided being in this situation.

Child Care

Have you heard about Donald Trump’s answer to the rising childcare costs? OMG!!! What a train wreck! It was classic Trump, where he doesn’t answer the question and wanders between a couple of subjects, and you, the listener, are supposed to make sense of his nonsense. Good Luck. Oh, and if you think VP candidate JD Vance could help Donald Trump, you would be wrong. When answering a similar question, JD Vance said, “Maybe Grandma and Grandpa want to help out a little bit more.” What? His answer to affordable childcare is to put my parents to work for me for free. That is not possible for millions of Americans. Basically, he is saying, “Americans, you are on your own.”

Trump Admits the Election was NOT Stolen

After relentless attacks on our elections, including almost four solid years of lying about 2020, Trump has admitted that the 2020 election was NOT stolen. I don’t know if this means that Trump has lost his mind, or that he’s turned over a new leaf and decided to become an honest man. (Probably the former: honesty is not in Trump’s DNA. He will lie about anything.) Trump told podcaster Lex Fridman that he lost the election to Biden by a whisker. A week earlier Trump had said something similar to the Moms for Liberty. So this was not an accident. He meant to say this.

Why he has decided to be truthful is a better question. I don’t have the answer. Right-wing nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes went nuts when he heard the news. On his podcast, Fuentes vented his frustration, “So, why did we do Stop the Steal? Why did anyone go to Jan. 6? Why did anyone go to jail? … It would have been good to know that before 1,600 people got charged.”

Why? I’ll answer his questions: Because Trump wanted to stay in power by any means. Any means. Trump is a criminal. He breaks the laws all the time. You, Mr. Fuentes, like thousands of other Americans, were played for a fool by Trump.

Another School Shooting

A fourteen-year-old male entered Apalachee High School, 60 minutes north of Atlanta, around 10 a.m. He was carrying an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. He killed four (two students and two teachers) before he was taken into custody.

Immediately, the finger-pointing began. Who is to blame? What were his parents like? Well, his father was taken into custody and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Who is to blame? We are. Every single American is to blame. We haven’t forced our politicians to do the right thing. Since Columbine in 1999, there have been 417 school shootings. Four hundred-seventeen!

Teenagers are emotional trainwrecks. They just are. It is our job as parents and grandparents to let teenagers know that they are loved and “this” problem—maybe a slight insult, a breakup, doing poorly in a game—is temporary.

In the meantime, as we calm their broken hearts, we must keep them safe. We must ban assault weapons. We must enact red flag laws and comprehensive background checks. Gun owners must be responsible for anything that happens with their guns. Congress needs to support gun/gun violence research. This is a start.

One single law will not magically make gun violence go away. Several laws will begin to make our schools and streets safer. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, banning assault rifles from 1994-2003 “lowered the number of mass killings in the United States by 37 percent while ban was in place, and rose by 183 percent after ban expired in 2024.”

Less Democratic

Over the past twenty years, America, the land of the free and home of the brave, has slowly become less democratic. Politicians have gerrymandered our districts so that our votes have little meaning. We can genuinely be a fairer nation that is more responsive to you and me.

And while discussing fairness, why isn’t Washington DC a state? Why isn’t Puerto Rico a state? Wouldn’t that be fairer for them? Isn’t that the democracy that we all deserve? Who is going to bring us closer to that more perfect union? Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? For me, the choice is obvious. Vote Democratic.

Do you want a big slice of freedom with a side of democracy? Vote for Harris/Walz. Do you want prosperity for yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your community? Vote for Democrats. I saw the Democratic National Convention. I enjoyed the vision of freedom, justice, and equality. We can not get there without a Democratic House and Senate. Yes, Madam President, I would like a big slice of that freedom for all of us.

 


NOTE: The views and opinions expressed here, as well as assertions of facts, are those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Urban News.

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