By Wade Lee Hudson

The DNC speeches last night by Barack and Michele Obama were remarkable. Among their strong points were rare affirmations of two principles at the heart of the Compassionate Humanity Community project. I don’t often hear political leaders address these points.

Concerning the first, Michele used a great phrase that was new to me despite how obvious it is. It hits the nail on the head: “ensuring that everyone has enough.” That sums up Elizabeth Anderson’s argument for democratic equality quite nicely. Barack articulated a similar principle when he affirmed “the freedom to provide for your family if you’re willing to work hard.” 

If society guaranteed this economic security, this foundation would help people relax and devote more time to meaningful, unpaid activities.

On the second point, Barack once again addressed the need for self-improvement to overcome personal weaknesses that society inflames. In his 2020 speech at the John Lewis memorial service, Obama said

In all of us there is a willingness to love all people, and to extend to them their God-given rights to dignity and respect. So many of us lose that sense. It’s taught out of us. We start feeling as if, in fact, that we can’t afford to extend kindness or decency to other people. That we’re better off if we are above other people and looking down on them, and so often that’s encouraged in our culture. (emphases added)

Last night, Obama confronted the issue from a different perspective. He said

That approach may work for the politicians who just want attention and thrive on division, but it won’t work for us. To make progress on the things we care about, the things that really affect people’s lives, we need to remember that we’ve all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices. And that if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process… Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they’ll extend to us. (emphases added)

This formulation is couched within the instrumental framework of persuasion. However, this learning is also inherently valuable. Moreover, it can take place within other settings, such as a small group of trusted allies who support each other in overcoming these tensions, as proposed by the Compassionate Humanity Community website.