The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
That's why pastors, friends of mine like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes and organizations like World Vision and Catholic Charities are wielding their enormous influence to confront poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the genocide in Darfur. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. 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. What is that promise? Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.
And that it's not enough to just believe this - we have to do our part to make it a reality. But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. 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.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President. The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.
I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It is easier to start wars than to end them.
At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their Church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage; school prayer and intelligent design. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. 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.
God bless you.