Sitting on Someone's Shoulders

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Sitting on Someone's Shoulders by Steve Payne

Author says: what if the last twenty-five years was just a bad dream? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

July 18^th 1988: in a dreadful speech which lasted for so long that some delegates began booing to get him to finish, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton placed Jesse Jackson's name in nomination at the Democratic Party Convention on this day in Atlanta, Georgia.
"The sons and daughters of slavemasters and the sons and daughters of slaves, sitting together around a common table"

Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards made a more lasting impression by comparing the origins of Jackson, "a nobody who had no daddy" with his likely adversary in November, Vice President Bush who "was born with a silver foot in his mouth". For surely his "testament to the struggles of those who have gone before" was truly an American story every bit as epic as George Washington's victory at Trenton.

"But we're really standing on someone's shoulders. Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Rosa Parks -- the mother of the civil rights movement. endured pain, anxiety, threat, and fear. But they have been strengthened and made secure by our faith in God, in America, and in you."And yet Jackson really seized the moment for the Rainbow Coalition by boldly welcoming "the sons and daughters of slavemasters and the sons and daughters of slaves, sitting together around a common table". The nomination was dedicated to the mother of the civil rights movement Rosa Parks, and former President Jimmy Carter for his unwavering commitment to peace in the world.

These words would find refresh resonance some two years later, when President Jackson would find a peaceful resolution to the Persian Gulf Crisis through dialogue with Saddam Hussein. That remarkable achievement would open the way to negotiations between Israel and Palestine to discuss the status of Jerusalem, "a small village that became the birthplace for three great religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam".

By then, George Bush was in the grandfather business, and Ann Richards the Governor of Texas, having consigned Bush's playboy son to a crushing defeat in the gubernatorial election.

Author says we think perhaps John McCain just likes fighting, and Ernest Hemingway was on a self-destructive trip but not everyone agrees! To view guest historian's comments on this post please visit the Today in Alternate History web site.