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19.Barbara Jordan: "Who Then Will Speak for the Common Good?"

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for a very warm reception.
It was one hundred and forty-four years ago that members of the Democratic
Party first met in convention to select a Presidential candidate. Since
that time, Democrats?have continued to convene once every four years and
draft a party platform and nominate a Presidential candidate. And our
meeting this week is a continuation of that tradition. But there is
something different about tonight. There is something special about
tonight. What is different? What is special?
I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker.
A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would have been
most unusual for any national political party to ask that a Barbara Jordan
to deliver a keynote address. But tonight here I am. And I feel that
notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of
evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.
Now that I have this grand distinction what in the world am I supposed to
say? I could easily spend this time praising the accomplishments of this
party and attacking the Republicans -- but I don't choose to do that. I
could list the many problems which Americans have. I could list the
problems which cause people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated: problems
which include lack of integrity in government; the feeling that the
individual no longer counts; the reality of material and spiritual
poverty; the feeling that the grand American experiment is failing or has
failed. I could recite these problems, and then I could sit down and offer
no solutions. But I don't choose to do that either. The citizens of
America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of
problems.
We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search
of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a
people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment,
inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise
of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create
and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.
Throughout out history, when people have looked for new ways to solve
their problems, and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times
they have turned to political parties. They have often turned to the
Democratic Party. What is it? What is it about the Democratic Party that
makes it the instrument the people use when they search for ways to shape
their future? Well I believe the answer to that question lies in our
concept of governing. Our concept of governing is derived from our view of
people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in
the national conscience of all of us.
Now what are these beliefs? First, we believe in equality for all and
privileges for none. This is a belief that each American regardless of
background has equal standing in the public forum -- all of us. Because we
believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive
party. Let everybody come! I think it no accident that most of those
emigrating to America in the 19th century identified with the Democratic
Party. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse
backgrounds.
We believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that
the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.
This can be accomplished only by providing each citizen with every
opportunity to participate in the management of the government. They must
have that, we believe. We believe that the government which represents the
authority of all the people, not just one interest group, but all the
people, has an obligation to actively -- underscore actively -- seek to
remove those obstacles which would block individual achievement --
obstacles emanating from race, sex, economic condition. The government
must remove them, seek to remove them.
We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are
willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are
willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better
future. We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that
the gap between the promise and reality of America can one day be finally
closed.
We believe that.
This, my friends, is the bedrock of our concept of governing. This is a
part of the reason why Americans have turned to the Democratic Party.
These are the foundations upon which a national community can be built.
Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for
short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about.
They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which
are not negotiable.
In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on the
beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today that
is not enough. People want more. That is not sufficient reason for the
majority of the people of this country to vote Democratic. We have made
mistakes. We realize that. In our haste to do all things for all people,
we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the
people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a
temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.

Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes, I still believe
that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party, they will
recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They'll recognize
that.
And now we must look to the future. Let us heed the voice of the people
and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our
political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans.
Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders, and believe
that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private
work wants. To satisfy their private interests. But this is the great
danger America faces. That we will cease to be one nation and become
instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region
against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy
private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then
will speak for the common good?
This is the question which must be answered in 1976.
Are we to be one people bound together by common spirit, sharing in a
common endeavor; or will we become a divided nation? For all of its
uncertainty, we cannot flee the future. We must not become the new
Puritans and reject our society. We must address and master the future
together. It can be done if we restore the belief that we share a sense of
national community, that we share a common national endeavor. It can be
done.
There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the American
people to form a national community. This we must do as individuals, and
if we do it as individuals, there is no President of the United States who
can veto that decision.
As a first step, we must restore our belief in ourselves. We are a
generous people so why can't we be generous with each other? We? need to
take to heart the words spoken by Thomas Jefferson:
"Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without
which liberty and even life are but dreary things."
A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the
responsibility for upholding the common good. A government is invigorated
when each of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this
nation. In this election year we must define the common good and begin
again to shape a common future. Let each person do his or her part. If one
citizen is unwilling to participate, all of us are going to suffer. For
the American idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each
one of us.
And now, what are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to
do? We call ourselves public servants but I'll tell you this: We as public
servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is
hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to
uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good.
More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press
releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable.
We must provide the people with a vision of the future.
If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If we as public
officials propose, we must produce. If we say to the American people it is
time for you to be sacrificial; sacrifice. If the public official says
that, we [public officials] must be the first to give. We must be. And
again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. We have to
do that. What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that
government should do everything and that idea, the belief, that government
ought to do nothing. Strike a balance. Let there be no illusions about the
difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. It's tough,
difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive in America only
if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny. If each of us
remembers when self-interest and bitterness seem to prevail that we share
a common destiny.
I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.
I have confidence that the Democratic Party can lead the way.
I have that confidence.
We cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the
founders of the Republic. There is no way to improve upon that. But what
we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize our
destiny.
Now, I began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a
Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well I am going to close my
speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you listen
to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of a
national community in which every last one of us participates:
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my
idea of Democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the
difference, is no Democracy."
Thank you.
　