Sen. Barack Obama's speech Sunday, January 20 at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church has been diaried extensively (here, here, and here) and deservedly so; it is a not-to-be-missed 33 minutes regardless of which candidate you support.
As I reflected on his theme of unity as "the great need of the hour", and how this relates to the many problems and challenges that face our country and our world, it occurred to me that unity of purpose is like a foundation on which all of our other efforts must be built. As he said in the speech, "it is where we begin".
On the same day that Obama gave his soaring speech in the Atlanta church where Dr. King had preached, his theme was echoed in a smaller service held in the gym at the Good Pine Middle School in Jena, Louisiana. Follow me over the flip...