Obama's speeech last night at Grant Park, Chicago made me look back in a journal I keep of writing that moved me. This is from Living with Music by the great American writer, Ralph Ellison. "Without the presence of Negro American style, our (U.S.) jokes, tall tales, even our sports would be lacking in the sudden turns, shocks, and swift changes of pace (all jazz-shaped) that serve to remind us that the world is ever unexplored, & that while a complete mastery of life is mere illusion, the real secret of the game is to make life swing." When I listened to what Obama did with his "Yes We Can" phrase last night- how he moved it from the urgent call of his campaign speeches to a quiet acknowledgment of deep belief - I was grateful that this country will have a president who will talk to us as intelligent and emotionally charged beings and at the same time make the language swing.
(The photo was taken at an evening rally in Eugene, OR before he had won the nomination. The university gym was full, so he stopped to speak to about 2,000 people outside waiting to catch a glimpse. Even then we had the feeling as Dylan put it, "something's happening & you don't know what it is/do you Mr. Jones?"
