Political Quotes

“some days we need a reminder of what perspective in the face of crisis really accomplishes. We know that 50 years after this historic speech, we have an understanding about how incredibly magnificent this moment was, so I am so glad to join my colleague in commemorating it. It was about holding the consciousness of a society and how to respond to an unbelievable, tragic, violent event and to hold the consciousness of a society with words--just words. And that is the point--that words matter; that words matter to a society. They are what holds us together. They are what creates unity. They are what creates perspective. In this case, they also created history. Senator Kennedy spoke to a crowd in Indianapolis and announced the death of Martin Luther King--an unbelievable responsibility. If you watch now in videos of the speech, you will hear the gasps of the audience, who was unaware that that event, in that moment, had taken place. Yet he spoke to the crowd about why violence and retribution should not be pursued. He created calm among chaos. He created a moment where everybody realized that they were commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, that his life had been about a nonviolent response to tragedy and to the challenges we face. When we commemorate this moment with this designation, we are commemorating a moment, in my opinion, of the human spirit.…”