The Rev. Sharpton visits Madison

I just got back from seeing Al Sharpton give a rousing speech at the Union. He spoke on the mistakes of the last election, the success of the Republicans in framing the issues (especially issues that had nothing to do with the Presidential election) and the importance of activism. Sharpton discussed how the Bush administration decieved the American public as to why the U.S. went to war in Iraq and raised the question of what was/is being done to stifle Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. He also spoke on how tuition hikes were resegregating access to higher education across the nation and the case at UW in particular.

The part of the lecture that I enjoyed most was when Sharpton brought up the issues that the candidates focused on in the 2004 election. The issues should have been the war, healthcare, education and other important topics, but instead much of the debate focused on gay marriage and Kerry's war record 30 years ago, neither of which had anything to do with the role of the president.

Sharpton also addressed how narrow the views of many conservatives, especially conservative Christians, have become in this country. They see gay marriage as a sin, but don't vote to help those in poverty. They take issue with a woman's right to choose, but don't take offense when public education and public healthcare remain underfunded. In Sharpton's words, "They love the fetus, but they don't care about the baby."

Several people who asked questions afterwards had the guts to challenge Sharpton on some of his views, but were soon shot down by his quick wit and negative crowd reaction. Sharpton stated at the beginning that he wasn't there to make friends, but to express his beliefs. I walked out of the theater a bigger fan of Sharpton and a little sorry that I couldn't have voted for him for president.