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Family

And it’s a lesson we need to remember today – as members of another Joshua generation. It’s time for us to change America. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.

And as I listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. So it’s 1985, and I’m in Chicago, and I’m working with these churches, and with lots of laypeople who are much older than I am. And if we can do that – if we can embrace a common destiny – then I believe we’ll not just help bring about a more hopeful day in America, we’ll not just be caring for our own souls, we’ll be doing God’s work here on Earth.

I’m not talking about blind optimism here – the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. I was too young to be involved in that movement, but I felt I could play a small part in the continuing battle for justice by helping rebuild some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. But that is not yet the case. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists.

But at the end of the day, we cannot walk away – not for the sake of passing a bill, but so that we can finally address the real concerns of Americans and the persistent hopes of all those brothers and sisters who want nothing more than their own chance at our common dream. I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century, and in too many Muslim communities there remains underinvestment in these areas.

If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.

Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.

Faith

More work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Ill., who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. I thought of the families I’ve met who were struggling to get by without a loved one’s full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were Reservists. And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. And I’m glad to see that. So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. This history is well known.

If you’re working forty hours a week, you shouldn’t be living in poverty. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice. “I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.

That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That is the true genius of America – a faith in simple dreams,, an insistence on small miracles. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.

I have a plan that would have already begun redeploying our troops with the goal of bringing all our combat brigades home by March 31st of next year. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.

His father – my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. It should help us, not hurt us. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words – within our borders, and around the world.

Thank you.

Seniors

They know we can do better. And as a consequence, so did I. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people.

Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. And I’m glad to see that. But we also know that government initiatives are not enough. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments – provided they govern with respect for all their people.

And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.” But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook.

Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans – Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are here to restore that legacy. It’s been about you. And today I am announcing a new global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio.

God bless you.

Outreach

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

When Washington doesn’t work, all its promises seem empty. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation.

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition.

While studying here, my father met my mother. Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them.

From his heroic service to Vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Because whether it’s poverty or racism, the uninsured or the unemployed, war or peace, the challenges we face today are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten-point plan. Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton’s Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations. Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together.

God bless you.

Education

And it’s a lesson we need to remember today – as members of another Joshua generation. It’s time for us to change America. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.

And as I listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. So it’s 1985, and I’m in Chicago, and I’m working with these churches, and with lots of laypeople who are much older than I am. And if we can do that – if we can embrace a common destiny – then I believe we’ll not just help bring about a more hopeful day in America, we’ll not just be caring for our own souls, we’ll be doing God’s work here on Earth.

I’m not talking about blind optimism here – the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. I was too young to be involved in that movement, but I felt I could play a small part in the continuing battle for justice by helping rebuild some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. But that is not yet the case. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists.

But at the end of the day, we cannot walk away – not for the sake of passing a bill, but so that we can finally address the real concerns of Americans and the persistent hopes of all those brothers and sisters who want nothing more than their own chance at our common dream. I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century, and in too many Muslim communities there remains underinvestment in these areas.

If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.

Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.

Veterans

So let’s rededicate ourselves to a new kind of politics – a politics of conscience. I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.

Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons.

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded; so instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he offers them to companies creating jobs here at home. This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work. I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition.

They cheered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Dr. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it. That is why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who have been displaced.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

Leadership development

At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need. We seek no military bases there. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s.

Hope in the face of difficulty. Because whether it’s poverty or racism, the uninsured or the unemployed, war or peace, the challenges we face today are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten-point plan. And then another one. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. This history is well known.

The hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta. That’s what compromise is about.

It wasn’t until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma. And if we can do that – if we can embrace a common destiny – then I believe we’ll not just help bring about a more hopeful day in America, we’ll not just be caring for our own souls, we’ll be doing God’s work here on Earth. America’s strong bonds with Israel are well known. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights.

King delivered his prayer for our country. I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.

Thank you very much everybody.

Community Service

More to do for the young woman in East St. And I’m glad to see that. He was nominally a Muslim since there were a number of Muslims in the village where he was born. It’s not consistent with our traditions of justice and fairness. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot. Let me also address the issue of Iraq.

But it also comes from my own American story. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. We are the party of Roosevelt. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create jobs.

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn – they know that parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. And we cannot ignore the very real concerns of Americans who are not worried about illegal immigration because they are racist or xenophobic, but because they fear it will result in lower wages when they’re already struggling to raise their families. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them.

They cheered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Dr. But we also know that government initiatives are not enough. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.” That’s why I stand here tonight. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third.

This is a problem that’s brought together churches and synagogues and mosques and people of all faiths as part of a grassroots movement. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.

Thank you.

Public Safety

But what we know – what we have seen – is that America can change. You have shown what history teaches us – that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars.

He’s still speaking to our Catholic friends – who are holding up a consistent ethic of life that goes beyond abortion – one that includes a respect for life and dignity whether it’s in Iraq, in poor neighborhoods, in African villages or even on death row. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement.

He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. I can assure you it is not. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. We seek no military bases there. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul.

But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s Interfaith dialogue and Turkey’s leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments; community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.

The UCC is still listening. Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders.

Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.

Small Businesses

We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.

Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars.

These people are a part of me. America, now is not the time for small plans. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. That’s why we’re partnering with a coalition of forty-six countries.

They know they have to work hard to get ahead – and they want to. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. There need not be contradiction between development and tradition.

His father – my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn. Now let there be no doubt. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.

Thank you, and God bless America.

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