Fred Guttenberg, author of the upcoming Find the Helpers, has been featured in an article written by Judy Berman for Time.com on his appearance at the DNC, take a look.
By: Judy Berman
Gun safety activist Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed during the 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., announces the Florida delegates during the virtual Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020.
It should’ve been the most boring half hour of the 2020 Democratic National Convention: a procedurally necessary roll call of 57 states and territories to confirm the foregone conclusion that Joe Biden would be the party’s nominee for President. Yet amid speeches from the candidate and his wife, Jill Biden; his history-making running mate, Kamala Harris; both Obamas; both Clintons; and leaders from across the ideological spectrum, including Republicans like Colin Powell and John Kasich, Tuesday’s roll call stole the show. Rhode Island went viral with a “calamari comeback” slogan and a platter of seafood. Washington Post humor columnist Alexandra Petri invented awards for her favorite delegations. And a Slate headline summed up the predominant response on left-leaning Twitter: “The DNC’s Roll Call Made Me Feel More Patriotic Than I Have in Years.”
Live TV can always be relied upon to provide a few laughs, whether intentional or accidental. Emotional responses are harder to elicit, particularly for speakers forced by the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic to address a bare-bones camera crew rather than a packed convention center. The roll call, in its sheer volume and variety, resonated so profoundly because it spoke to America’s most laudable values: diversity, resilience, aspiration. We heard from an Arizona teacher, a farmer in Kansas, students and recent grads whose futures have been put on hold. A Parkland father represented Florida, while a Nebraska meatpacking plant worker issued a wrenching plea: “Workers are dying from COVID, and a lot of us don’t have paid sick leave or even quality protective equipment. We are human beings, not robots, not disposable.”
Read entire article here.