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My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was one of the most spiritual souls I ever knew. But she had a healthy skepticism of religion as an institution. It's an idea that's often forgotten or dismissed in cynical times. But I also know that human progress cannot be denied.
They're ready to turn the page on the old politics and the old policies - whether it's the war in Iraq or the health care crisis we're in, or a school system that's leaving too many kids behind despite the slogans. These are not whiners. I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
To the Joshua generation, these challenges seem momentous - and they are. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. These are the Americans that I know. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need. In all nations - including my own - this change can bring fear.
They know they have to work hard to get ahead - and they want to. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together. Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest.
It's a journey that takes us back to our nation's founding, when none other than a UCC church inspired the Boston Tea Party and helped bring an Empire to its knees. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.
Thank you.