Freedom requires opposing the tyrants of life [Video]

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey made an unscheduled appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, where she delivered a sermon of sorts to the cheering crowd.

“Good evening, everyone! Who says you can't go home?” she told the crowd in Chicago, where she broadcast her show for decades.

The famous billionaire entrepreneur addressed Vice President Kamala Harris directly, saying she would offer more “joy” compared to former President Donald Trump's dire warnings. Many other speakers at the Democratic National Convention echoed that message.

She made “freedom” and “the best of America” the themes of her surprise prime-time address.

🌟 “Freedom”

“I am so honored to have been asked to speak today on the issue that matters most to me, to you, and to all of us Americans: freedom,” Winfrey began her speech.

“There are people who want you to see our country as a nation where we are fighting against them. People who want to scare you, people who want to dominate you. People who want you to believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe. That there is a right way to pray and a wrong way to love. People who want to divide first and conquer second. But that's the way it is: When we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us,” she said.

But Winfrey urged caution.

“Freedom doesn't come for free,” she said. “America is an ongoing project. It requires commitment. It requires being open to the hard work and heart work of democracy. And every now and then, it requires standing up to the tyrants of life.”

➡️ Criticism of Trump and Vance

Winfrey later poked fun at Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's now infamous 2021 joke that the Democratic Party was supposedly led by “childless cat ladies.”

“Even though some would have you believe otherwise, we are not that different from our neighbors. If a house is on fire, we don't ask about the race or religion of the homeowner. We don't wonder who his partner is or how he voted. No! We just try to do our best to save him. And if the house happens to belong to a childless cat lady, we try to get that cat out too,” she said, laughing.

She also made an indirect dig at Trump's campaign slogan “Make America Great Again”: “Let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday.”

“We've been through ridiculous tweets, lies and stupidity,” she later quipped. “These are complicated times, folks, and they require adult conversations. And I welcome those conversations, because civilized debate is vital to democracy and the best thing about America.”

💡Present Harris as an inspirational figure

Winfrey told the story of how Harris was bused through Berkeley, California, to help integrate the city's public schools.

“It seems to me that someone at school and at home has done a great job of showing this young girl how to challenge the people at the top and empower the people at the bottom,” she added.

Winfrey quickly changed her style and portrayed Harris as someone with an inspiring outlook on life who can inspire others.

“You taught her how to look at the world and see not just what is but what can be,” she continued. “You instilled in her a passion for justice and freedom and the glorious fighting spirit necessary to pursue that passion. And soon and very soon – soon and very soon! – we will teach our daughters and sons how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, two idealistic, energetic immigrants – immigrants – grew up to become the 47th President of the United States! That is the best thing about America!”

She concluded her speech with the words: “So let us choose truth. Let us choose honor. And let us choose jooooooooooooooooooy! Because this is the best of America.”