The Democratic Convention: Day 1 + 2 Review

I know others found the giant zoom call format which is being used this year because of COVID not as exciting as past conventions but honestly, I enjoyed it. Now honestly I don't remember ever paying that much attention to the convention before so I am not sure I can make a good comparison but this year I feel more connected to the process. I am getting to caucus meetings I would never have otherwise gotten to and several pre-game events. 

Note this is my personal review so what I participated in or what stood out to me if you want more details you can always look up one of the major news networks summaries.

Day 1

What events I got to:

The Democratic Black Caucus Meeting: I appreciated the diversity in black voices represented including women, LGBTQ+, etc and the focus on intersectionality

Part of the Democratic Youth Council Meeting: I only got part of this because of confusion over timing but what I saw was an interesting panel on environmental justice and its intersectionality with social justice.

Watched Chasten's Instagram Interview with Shepard Fairey (on replay) about the power of arts and the role that the arts can play in the election.

Convention Night 1.

The focus of the night was Unity (ok I forgot to write down the official focus and I can't find it listed now oh well)

Night 1 was a night focused on the need of justice. It was also the here are all the Republicans who are now on team Biden. Sanders spoke and called on his sporters to support Biden because this election is so important.

The keynote was Michelle Obama which was amazing and spoke to character, compassion, and competency.

Day 2

What events I got to:

The LGBTQ+ Caucus Meeting: Many interesting individuals spoke including my Pete (of course) who spoke about how this election is not just what we are against but also what we are for such as empathy and belonging, that the LGBTQ community has made a lot of progress in the past few years but this progress is incomplete, how we need to be allies to everyone (#BlackLivesMatter), the importance of down-ticket candidates, and how politics is about everyday life. Chasten then spoke about the issue of homeless youth (40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ) and the need everyone has for hope and dignity. (I always love how clearly in love with each other Pete and Chasten always are, plus Buddy their puppy was doing his duty by taking a nap during the event lol) At the end of the caucus meeting, there was an interesting panel of black trans women.

The Future Is Now (Event by Latino Victory) which featured Lin-Manuel, Joe Biden, and many Latinx individuals from celebrities to politicians.  As Assistant speaker Ben Ray Lujan (the highest-ranking Latino in Congress) said if you are 1st, it is important that you are the 1st of many, not the last./

The Veterans and Military Families Council Meeting: This is one I had playing in the background because I was really just waiting for my Pete to speak. There was a wide range of interesting speakers including Madeleine Albright. Some of the vet issues that were brought up included the need to lower the amount of vet homelessness, deal with the high rate of vet suicides, fix the VA, and increase education and job opportunities for vets. Pete spoke about the power of national service.

Convention Night 2:

The focus was on leadership. 

The night started with a clip show of current and future leaders across America. Then it was president corner (Caroline Kennedy, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton) Then there were speeches/ endorsements for Sanders and Biden. AOC seconded the nomination of Sanders. (This was a procedural thing that happens at conventions, not any disagreement over who was going to end up the candidate) Then it was an elevator speech about Biden (a real elevator speech actually about meeting him in an elevator) then Biden nomination speech, Then was roll call (the equivalent of the parade of nations at the Olympics just states instead) and it was kind of fun to see each and every state and territory. I liked seeing my Pete, Win the Era's Jamie Harison, and the virgin islands mentioning Alexander Hamilton. The Keynote was done by Dr. Jill Biden and was really good. :) And then the night ended with John Legend because John Legend is everywhere.