The Lost Art of Personal Responsibility In Democratic Speeches

If you watched any of the various speeches given at the democratic convention by Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, and others, you may or may not have noticed a common theme. One that is wrong and one that the democrats could have avoided in exchange for a more powerful message.

That is the role of a Victim. It seemed that each speech centered around everyone being a victim, the family that lost their house, the women who does not get equal pay, the poor worker that can’t afford gas, etc. The message seemed to say that the US is no better than some third world country under control by a government that does not give freedoms. This is simply not true and to continue this message only worsens the hopes and dreams for millions of Americans.

We are at a historic junction. We have the first black man to be nominated as a presidential candidate running against the first woman to even be considered a presidential candidate. That is powerful and it provides hope to those that thought there was none. It helps put to bed age old stereo-types and returns to our children a modern day hero. But even with that, the democrats still proceeded with victim speeches, essentially telling their audience that it does not matter that they made it, because no one else will unless the government steps in. They were the exception. How can you cheer for that?

This was an opportunity to unite the people by delivering a message that says, YOU CAN MAKE IT, we did. An opportunity to tell our children, IF YOU TRY, you can overcome any obstacle. An opportunity to tell everyone there are more choices now then there have ever been. No matter what hurdle, no matter what anyone says, the opportunity to be anything you want is open in this great country. They could have told Americans that as future leaders, they we will not only keep these doors open, but in exchange for Americans taking a step to find these doors and believing in them, they will provide Americans the tools, the knowledge, and the opportunities to open additional doors. They could have said to Americans that there is no reason the next president can’t come from the Bronx, or that the next CEO of GM might be some young woman taking dance lessons in a small town. They could have said any of this, but none of that was said.

That is a message the could have been respected. One that is not full of false hope. One that is not telling 95% of the population they are victims at the expense of the top 5% of the people. One that does not say, yeah there is no hope for you unless we step in. If you empower the people and give them confidence, they results might be surprising. If you treat them like victims they will remain victims.

This was an opportunity lost by the democrats.