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Where would art be without "starvation"?
As a 1L in law school, my classmates and I are all vying for that one summer job that can give us "experience" to put on our resume so that we can get another summer job. I personally dread writing resumes. I have to answer subjective questions like, "What verbage should I use to convey my ability to 'work well under pressure' and 'multitask' when I had to sneak money and food to streetchildren in jails, ignore the catcalls from the inmates, make sure the very same streetchildren didn't rip me off, and pretend to be a social worker/doctor/lawyer, all while convincing the warden to keep the kids away from the rapist, catcalling adults?" Is that the kind of experience employers are looking for in law students? It is either a "no," or the title "crisis manager" does not adequately convey this. I have never felt so rejected by the world before coming to law school and being turned down for countless unpaid jobs.
Fortunately, I believe I am not alone in my battle to constantly self-promote and yet continually feel rejected. Not to beat an already dead horse, but when the media, and my classmates and my other peers discuss Sen. Clinton as having “experience” and Sen. Obama as having “words,” I want to bang my head against the wall.
What kind of “experience” is it that we are looking for in a presidential candidate? I am honestly wondering. Personally, I would like a candidate who has faced the growing environmental crisis his whole life. I would like a candidate who has lived in countries other than this one and understands the effect the United States has on other countries---not just how those countries affect us. I would like a candidate who has attended school for international relations during a time well beyond the cessation of unfounded fears of communism. Frankly, I want a candidate who understands the struggle of the downtrodden in this country and what it’s like to fall in the cracks of the boxes we have placed on people: black, white, rich, poor, republican, democrat.
If my peers want a candidate who is well ingrained in what American politics is today, then they have her. But I prefer one who knows not only what it’s like to be an American, but an American who has to deal with the huge mess of problems my parents’ generation has created, ignored or made worse. I want a candidate who won’t retire quietly after his eight years, but who knows his work, our work is not going to be over. I want a candidate who has to deal with the fact that his own children may not have clean water to drink or money to pay for the war that a bunch of gray-haired politicians sent my peers to die in. At least Obama talks about black anger and racism. He is going to have to deal with Generation Y anger too: tuition prices, mercury poisoning pollutants, scarce amounts of "safe" food and "safe" plastic, homophobic parents and general decline in the overall quality of life.
And what is really wrong with giving great speeches???
The fact that one can actually articulate and deliver their message in an effective way should not leave us with the assumption that they cannot fulfill their duties and obligations. It merely demonstrates how seriously they take their job and that they actually have a passion for their work. Obama is not playing pretend during these speeches. He is not putting on dress up clothes and acting like a candidate. He really is a candidate. He gives good speeches because they come from his experience.
