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But I also get the sense that there's a hunger that's deeper than that - a hunger that goes beyond any single cause or issue. God is still speaking.
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. It's the wisdom Moses imparted to those who would succeed him. There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims." And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States.
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 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.
But she had a healthy skepticism of religion as an institution. A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. Not this time. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.