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>Subject: Text of address by U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama
>Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:29:28 -0700 (PDT)
>
>This story was sent to you by: Edi
>
>interesting speech
>
>--------------------
>Text of address by U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama
>--------------------
>
>
>July 27, 2004
>
>On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of
>Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing
>this convention.
>
>Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on
>this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and
>raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to
>school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a
>domestic servant.
>
>But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and
>perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place;
>America which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who
>had come before. While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born
>in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas.
>
>Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The
>day after Pearl Harbor he signed up for duty, joined Patton's army and
>marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went
>to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI
>Bill, bought a house through FHA, and moved west in search of opportunity.
>
>And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream, born of
>two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared
>an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an
>African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America
>your name is no barrier to success.
>
>They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they
>weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to
>achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on
>this night, they look down on me with pride.
>
>I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that
>my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing
>that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to
>all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is
>my story even possible.
>
>Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of
>the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of
>our economy. 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. That they are endowed by
>their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life,
>liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
>
>That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its
>people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children
>at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can
>say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on
>the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without
>paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the
>political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be
>counted-or at least, most of the time.
>
>This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and
>commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are
>measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future
>generations.
>
>And fellow Americans--Democrats, Republicans, Independents--I say to you
>tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met in
>Galesburg, Illinois, 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. More to do for the father I
>met who was losing his job and choking back tears, wondering how he would
>pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits
>he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and
>thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will,
>but doesn't have the money to go to college.
>
>Don't get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in
>diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all their
>problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to.
>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 the Pentagon.
>
>Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that
>government alone can't teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to
>parent, 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. No, people don't expect government to
>solve all their problems.
>
>But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a 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. They know we can do
>better. And they want that choice.
>
>In this election, we offer that choice. Our party has chosen a man to lead
>us who embodies the best this country has to offer. That man is John Kerry.
>John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice,
>because they've defined his life. From his heroic service in Vietnam to his
>years as prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the
>United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and
>again, we've seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available.
>His values and his record affirm what is best in us.
>
>John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded. So instead
>of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he'll offer
>them to companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry believes in an
>America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage our
>politicians in Washington have for themselves.
>
>John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to
>the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. John
>Kerry believes in the constitutional freedoms that have made our country
>the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties nor
>use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry believes that in a
>dangerous world, war must be an option, but it should never be the first
>option.
>
>A while back, I met a young man named Shamus at the VFW Hall in East
>Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, six-two or six-three, clear
>eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he'd joined the Marines and was
>heading to Iraq the following week.
>
>As I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, his absolute faith in our
>country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this
>young man was all any of us might hope for in a child. But then I asked
>myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he was serving us? I thought of
>more than 900 service men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and
>wives, friends and neighbors, who will not be returning to their hometowns.
>
>I thought of families I had 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 with nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health
>benefits because they were reservists. When we send our young men and women
>into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or
>shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while
>they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever
>go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn
>the respect of the world.
>
>Now let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must
>be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows
>this. 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. John Kerry believes in America. And he knows it's not enough for
>just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there's
>another ingredient in the American saga.
>
>A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the
>south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not
>my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her
>prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my
>life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American
>family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that
>threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief-I am my
>brother's keeper, I am my sisters' keeper-that makes this country work.
>It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come
>together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.
>
>Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the
>spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything
>goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a
>conservative America-there's the United States of America.
>
>There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian
>America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to
>slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for
>Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We
>worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents
>poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in
>the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States.
>
>There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported
>it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and
>stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
>
>In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a
>politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope.
>John Edwards calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism
>here-the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if
>we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if
>we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's
>the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of
>immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval
>lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's
>son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name
>who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!
>
>In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation;
>the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead.
>I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families
>with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless,
>homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America
>from violence and despair. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of
>history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face
>us. America!
>
>Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same
>passion I do, the same hopefulness I do-if we do what we must do, then I
>have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from
>Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry
>will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice
>president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long
>political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and God bless you.
>Copyright (c) 2004, Chicago Tribune

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