PhillySound: new poetry

Obama defended the Warren choice by saying that “part of the magic of this country is that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated.” Elizabeth Alexander is in a unique position, since everyone from the Drudge Report to the NY Times is interested in what she has to say. At the very least, Alexander has the opportunity to use this time between now and the morning of January 20 to PUBLICLY oppose Warren's position on Proposition 8. That should be fine with Obama, if he is to be taken at his word. If Alexander did so choose not to participate, it wouldn’t be an act of silence. She would speak for the women and men who love each other in California, those who Rick Warren has tried to silence through Proposition 8. She would also speak for the women who Warren aims to silence by outlawing their reproductive rights. Elizabeth Alexander has every opportunity to summon the American magic Barack Obama has conjured by speaking in defense of the civil rights of Americans, those whose equal rights have been surrendered to the popular vote and/or highest bidder. Talk to America, Elizabeth Alexander. We'll be listening.

- Frank Sherlock