PHILADELPHIA—Here on the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, the Reverend Dr. William Barber II broke through. Or, more accurately, he rose above, past the partisan food fights and the insults and the vindictiveness. His soaring speech was a call to action, and a declaration that it was inaction on a range of issues—gun violence, the deteriorating relationships between police and communities of color, the climate—that had led to a kind of national cardiac arrest. We are not all equally to blame, he said. There are forces, he said, that are intent to "stop the heart of our democracy." But we are all responsible for what comes next.

"We are being called, like our mothers and fathers, to be the moral defibrillators of our time," he said, as the crowd rose with him for the umpteenth time. "We will shock this nation and fight for justice for all." And later: "We will not give up on the heart of our democracy, not now, not ever."

His words are timely for a nation—and a Congress—paralyzed by partisanship and cynicism and self-interest. Do yourself a favor, and watch the whole thing.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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