Reflect Activity: Chapter 26

Barbara Jordan, a representative from Texas, offers the following reflections on the event in her
1976 keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention: What am I supposed to say now that
I have this impressive distinction? I could enumerate the issues that make people feel skeptical,
indignant, and disappointed, such as the perception that government lacks integrity, the idea that
people no longer matter, the reality of material and spiritual poverty, and the belief that the great
American experiment is failing or has failed. I could list these issues, then I could slouch down and
make no recommendations. But I also don't voluntarily do that. Americans have higher
expectations (189).
In essence, her speech was about how the U.S democracy has failed to establish order and control
and should be taken into consideration for future generations and have compassion to those who
struggle with the American Dream.