Críticas Magazine

Bruce Jensen

"That's the true genius of America: that America can change"
November 5, 2008

"It's been a long time coming," said Barack Obama last night in Chicago—and surely millions of us breathed a teary-eyed Amen—"but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America."

"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office," the President-elect reminded us.  

Absolutely true.  The odds of ever seeing a person of color elected president?   No, that deck has always been stacked, no matter the cries from some of his opponents about the mythic liberal media.  Many capable candidates (from Shirley Chisholm to Jesse Jackson to Alan Keyes to Bill Richardson, just in recent decades) have found they never had a chance.

Then along came a brilliant young man from Chicago, by way of Hawai'i, son of a Kenyan, with awe-inspiring gifts for service and for oratory.  A thinker.  A biracial, multicultural, giga-intelligent cat capable of connecting with all sorts of people who have ears that listen and hearts that feel.

Philadelphia County, according to

More than a building that houses books and data, the library has always been a window to a larger world - a place where we've always come to discover big ideas and profound concepts that help move the American story forward.

And at a time when truth and science are constantly being challenged by political agendas and ideologies; a time where so many refuse to teach evolution in our schools, where fake science is used to beat back attempts to curb global warming or fund life-saving research; libraries remind us that truth isn't about who yells the loudest, but who has the right information. Because even as we're the most religious of people, America's innovative genius has always been preserved because we also have a deep faith in facts.

And so the moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold into a library, we've changed their lives forever, and for the better. This is an enormous force for good...

Each of you has a role here too. You can get more kids to walk through your doors by building on the ideas so many of you are already pursuing - book clubs and contests, homework help and advertising your services throughout the community. 

In the years ahead, this is our challenge - and this must be our responsibility.

As a librarian or as a parent, every one of you here today can probably remember the look on a child's face after finishing a first book. They turn that last page and stare up at you with those wide eyes, and in that look you find such a sense of accomplishment and pride; of great potential and so much possibility.

And in that moment, there's nothing we want more than to nurture that hope; to make all those possibilities and all those opportunities real for our children; to have the ability to answer the question, "What can I be when I grow up?" with "Anything you want - anything you can dream of."

It's a hope that's as old as the American story itself. From the moment the first immigrants arrived on these shores, generations of parents have worked hard and sacrificed whatever is necessary so that their children could have the same chances they had; or the chances they never had. Because while we could never ensure that our children would be rich or successful; while we could never be positive that they would do better than their parents, America is about making it possible to give them the chance. To give every child the opportunity to try.

Education is still the foundation of this opportunity. And the most basic building block that holds that foundation together is still reading. At the dawn of the 21st century, in a world where knowledge truly is power and literacy is the skill that unlocks the gates of opportunity and success, we all have a responsibility as parents and librarians, educators and citizens, to instill in our children a love of reading so that we can give them the chance to fulfill their dreams.  

Posted by Bruce Jensen on November 5, 2008 | Comments (0)