The speech Joe Biden should give — and we need to hear

I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires — Khalil Gibran

I went to sleep last night and fell into a feverish dream about politics and the coming presidential election.

I woke in a cold sweat of reality. If the dream was only real.

In this dream, the American public was open to critical thinking and took its time to gather vetted factual information before offering an opinion. That’s how I knew I was dreaming. 

And in this dream I heard a president speak. Their face was obscured by clouds. Maybe it was smog or cigar smoke. But his or her voice resonated and sounded hopeful; it was filled with joy and laughter. I didn’t recognize it as belonging to anyone in the real world.

Watching Donald Trump speak is like watching a festering carbuncle explode in a spray of pus and blood. Listening to Donald Trump speak reminds one of the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon, or worse yet, a braying ass with terminal flatulence. He remains an inchoate, irredeemable, iconic mess of humanity developmentally stuck between diapers and nursery school. Or, if you prefer, an infected face wart that John Candy’s Uncle Buck would suggest a rat gnaw off your body.

On the other hand, listening to Joe Biden is like listening to that folksy professor whose stump speech looks like laundry drying on a clothesline. Biden is knowledgeable and empathetic, while Trump is ignorant, crude and narcissistic. But Trump is far more demonstrative. His fans like watching him wrap himself around a flag, smile and dance like his feet are glued to the ground while he snarls at his enemies, licks his self-inflicted wounds and proclaims himself both a victim and our one true savior.

Biden’s standard stump speech is always filled with words of hope and highlights his many accomplishments as president. He often says we should remember that we are the United States of America — with an emphasis on “United” — but though he talks about hope, his stage presence won’t sway the undecided voter. 

Biden, however, is the only one on the national stage right now, including all the current Democrats, Republicans or Independents running for President, who could pull off my dream speech — provided he brings the right energy to it.

In my dream, it occurred on national television. If it occurred in reality, it would take place with the president either in the Oval Office or, even better, standing at a podium in the East Room with the press corps and guests in attendance. It would be planned for a national holiday. It would begin  with remarks of hope for the future and then would continue like this:

…I know some of you are fearful. Some of you are adamant. Some of you believe that to change your mind now shows weakness. But look around. Everyone fails. Everyone makes mistakes. It is not weakness to admit your mistakes and change your mind. It is weakness not to.

Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” And “there are no rules here — we're trying to accomplish something.”

And we are trying to accomplish something in this country too. Majority rule. Democracy, and a government of by and for the people. We’ve made mistakes. But we’ve made great strides. And every time we’ve made a mistake we’ve corrected ourselves.

We should not be afraid to do so now.

The Republicans say they are the party of “limited” government.

That’s not true. They are the party that wants to limit you.

They want to limit your access to health care.

They want to limit what you read, what you see and what you hear.

They want to limit the way you worship in your own home.

They want to limit your access to Social Security — which is your money.

They want to limit your access to education.

They want to limit who can call themselves patriots, Americans, and citizens to those who only think exactly as they do.

They want to support the fetus, so they say, but they do not support the mother or the child.

They denigrate the homeless while claiming to be Christians.

They are proponents of the equivalent of modern-day slavery: They actually want an unlimited government that dictates to you how to live.

And we know why some of us are listening to this message. It is from fear and anger: Fear that the government is not listening to you and anger that nothing is being done about it. But there is no “Deep State.” There is only the United States.

And our problems cannot be solved by one man stepping forward saying he is the only one who can solve all of our problems.

We all know about false messiahs.

What this will take is the efforts of a majority of us working together to get the job done. Every single one of us has a right to our opinions. I may disagree with what you say, but will defend to death your right to say it — that’s the cornerstone of free speech.

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What brings us together is the knowledge that we are all involved in this grand experiment of self-government. None of us gets everything we want, but by working together we all get what we all demand and need — justice and equality. Everyone has a vested interest in this country’s success, and everyone — including and especially the extremely wealthy — must pay their fair share. We all need to place value on vetted, factual information upon which we can make sound and wise decisions. This isn’t possible without solid public education and a robust free and independent press.

We need to invest more in community journalism, which is the backbone of all journalism. There are vast news deserts in our country where local journalism simply doesn’t exist. There are dozens of shell corporations that produce newspapers but don’t have a single reporter on staff. 

Instead of giving tax breaks to the largest corporations, we need to give tax breaks, low-interest loans and other incentives to local, small media businesses that will hire and invest in the new generation of young reporters and editors who cover city and county council meetings, the local high school PTA, local sports and community fairs — and in so doing, strengthen the foundations of democracy at the local level.

On the national level, we need to support a national shield law, favored by both Republicans and Democrats and sponsored by a wide variety of legislators from Jamie Raskin to Jim Jordan. We must support anti-SLAPP (that’s strategic laws against public participation) legislation so the richest among us cannot threaten independent media with meritless lawsuits.

We are living in a time where our passion for democracy compels us to become more involved than we’ve ever been in the past in order to guarantee our children and grandchildren benefit from the fruits of the labors of all of our ancestors who demanded a government of, by and for the people. 

We cannot sit idly by and hope that our democracy is in good hands. We must all take part, vote, get people out to vote, stay informed, ask questions of everyone running for office and, yes, run for office ourselves. Do not leave it to “professional” politicians.

To those who support the Constitution, there is room for everyone in this great country. For those who do not support the Constitution, you’ve chosen poorly. We may not all agree on how we obtain our goals, but we all must agree that our goals are freedom and equal rights for everyone of all faiths, genders and races. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We are the wretched refuse, the homeless, and we will always lift the lamp beside the gold door.

This is the United States of America (emphasis on “is” and not “United”). We have proudly stood the test of time for the last 250 years. We recognize that everyone has equal rights under the law, we are and have been the beacon that cuts through the fog of theocracy, despotism and political malignancy.

Our best days are ahead of us. There is nothing we cannot do, no goal we cannot accomplish when we work together. 

We were the first to put a man on the moon. Our science and technological achievements have made what was once only science fiction a reality. Look ahead and see where that takes us. We will never look backward. Our greatness only increases when we look forward. Music. The arts. Math. Science. Equality. Hope.

The United States of America I see in the future leads to peace, understanding and prosperity around the globe, into space and beyond. We choose this path because we are driven by our curiosity, our love and compassion and the knowledge gained from centuries of history and the undeniable understanding that when we all work together . . . even the sky is not the limit.

The only thing I can offer is my life — to paraphrase Winston Churchill — my blood, my sweat and my tears as a bridge from today to the leadership of tomorrow. Our work is not done. Our vision is large enough for everyone. Our servicemen and women in the military know the saying “leave no one behind.” 

That is the vision of this government. We hope it is something we can all share. . .

* * *

(I’d say join together with the band, but you know politicians don’t like to often quote British rock musicians. Who? Exactly.) 

Anyway, that was my dream. No wonder I woke up in a cold sweat.

It is my Christmas holiday wish to hear someone deliver it.

And it is ultimately a dream that, should it become reality, would make the world a less angry, more enjoyable place. Heaven can be here on Earth, and so can Hell.

I’m tired of this dystopian, hellish existence.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

“Life without liberty is like a body without spirit,” Kahlil Gibran taught us, along with this: “Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.”