That speech
So this morning I finally got through the stack of New York Times that were sitting on the couch, and had a chance to read the speech Obama gave on race. Wow. Just wow. If you haven't read it, you can read the whole thing right here. It was probably one of the more incisive, heartfelt and eloquent speeches I have heard from a politician in modern times. It was also risky for Obama, in the sense that he didn't bullsh*t people, he didn't mince words and he didn't shy away from a difficult issue. For me, the most moving part of his speech was when he said:
"For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies. We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change."
Powerful stuff.
In other news, it's EASTER!! Happy Easter everyone!! Michael and I have been contemplating the theme of renewal, in our own way, by thinking about where we might like to move in 3 years when Michael's lease is up on his office space. We're thinking simultaneouly about somewhere close to NYC and somewhere warm. Obviously, the two don't go together so we have to make a choice. Asheville, NC looks wonderful to me, as does Charleston, NC. I also like parts of Connecticut, if we go that route. Of course, it gets cold in Conn, which both Michael and Luca can't bear. But we're open to advice and opinions. Here are our requirements:
1. Must be reasonably close to a major airport (M travels to Europe a lot)
2. Must be warm OR close to NYC. Right now we're leaning towards warm. When I say warm, I basically mean no awful, bitter winters.
3. close to nature, but also close to a vibrant community that has coffeeshops, bookstores, some cultural scene.
4. good homeschooling community
5. near a beach would be great, but not a requirement.
Any thoughts, oh internet readers?
