Jesse Jackson was the last step to my becoming a Democrat

[underpants]

I’d watched the news and read the paper growing up. I didn’t have any prevalent influence on me politically one way or the other but I tended to be more Republican. Hey, I was a stupid kid.

Fast forward to 1992 in an Army barracks in Germany. I’d always watched conventions so I stayed in on a Saturday night as I remember it. He gave a speech called (I think) “That’s not America”. It was a juxtaposition or comparison between what the Republicans believed and what this country has stood for. It specifically targeted the Walker-Prescott-Bush crowd and their elitist privileged out of touch class. It was a very powerful speech delivered exceptionally well. I haven’t been able to find it even on YouTube.

I remember sitting there thinking “Yes that’s exactly right” to everything. It really resonated with me because of the world I was in. I saw much of the conservative themes in real life everyday. You have a rank in that world/society, you know exactly where you stand with whomever you are dealing with, and you will OBEY or you will be immediately punished in some way sometimes just to make an example out of you. I had people I outranked (E4) but I think I realized that just because I have power over someone, it doesn’t mean I have to be a dick about it.

Thank you Jesse. ❤️

[MaryMagdaline]

1. For me it was the 1984 Convention speech

I was already a Democrat, but that speech knocked it out of the park. “Poor people WORK!” I always believed in anti-poverty programs and the Great Society, but Jesse Jackson had me walking in the shoes of poor people. I could see myself going to work each morning on the bus, putting in long hours and still being poor. Used to end my Christmas cards with “Keep Hope Alive!”

[calimary]

2. Thanks for this, my friend.

And for this in particular:
“I think I realized that just because I have power of someone, it doesn’t mean I have to be a dick about it.”