Obama Rising: Bruce Springsteen On the American Promise

Listen.....

Bruce Springsteen said this at an Obama rally in Philadelphia:

I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project.

You can read the rest at Springsteen's website. (1)

Bruuuoooooooooce!

Today, Obama rises, and so do we. (2)

Sia Vogel

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Endnotes:

(1) I first saw and heard and was blown away by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on November 1st, 1975. I haven't liked every song he has ever written but I can say that he has never disappointed me, either as an artist, a personal hero, a contemporary or fellow citizen. If you want a rich example of an ethical, poetic, striving, searching, compassionate, hard working, visionary, American life, I recommend this gentleman.

(2) Our sympathies go out to Senator Obama and his family on the passing of his grandmother.