Kennedy's speech asks American to dream big

DENVER, Colo. -- An ailing but pugnacious Senator Edward Kennedy brought the house down in Denver tonight as he symbolically passed the torch from his generation to a new dreamer who wants Americans to believe that fear is not the defining characteristics of our people. His speech almost sounded obsolete or quaint in its tone, after so many years of being bombarded with images and messages from the Bush Administration that ask us to bury our dreams and except less of ourselves and our communities. It is refreshing to see an America that looks to the future with courage.

America has undoubtedly suffered setbacks in recent years, many of them a direct result of failed policies that promote class differences, encourage hate for that which is different and utilize what Naomi Klein calls The Shock Doctrine to mesmerize Americans with cognitive dissonance and Orwellian doublespeak in order to promote government-driven economic polices (masquerading as free market salves)that enrich the rich and impoverish the working poor.

If we dare dream, we can envision a nation that offers health care to all its citizens in an efficient manner that decouples it from the domain of employers (thus aiding our infirm while releasing businesses from unsustainable inflationary costs). Senator Kennedy has been an outspoken supporter of major health care reform for decades, sometimes as lone voice in the wilderness.

We can envision a nation that uses a fraction of the costs used to sustain an unjust war in Iraq to build renewable energy via geothermal, solar and wind technologies that free us from the geopolitical nightmares of the Middle East. The Senator's nephew Robert Kennedy Jr. wrote an essay on CNN.com today that outlines how that can happen, while also jump start entire new classes of high paying jobs for Americans.

We can hope for a sustained rejuvenation of our schools so that every one of our children have the opportunity to look outside beyond the barrios of east Los Angeles and the rusting neighborhoods of Detroit and the lost communities of New Orleans to see a future America that offers them a chance to improve their lives and provide inspiration to their own children. People like my boss California State Senator Jack Scott have been working in the trenches for decades to make a difference on education and an active role from the federal government can help our states and school districts make those critical improvements.

If we dare hope, we can imagine a future for our country where Democrat and Republican, rich and poor, urban and rural, soccer moms and unemployed line workers can all walk down the same street and feel connected to their fellow Americans. I believe we will rise to the occasion. Courage is infectious.