The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. That together, our dreams can be one. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.
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. 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. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. America, we cannot turn back. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
But she had a healthy skepticism of religion as an institution. There is real evil and hardship and pain and suffering in the world and we should be humble in our belief that we can eliminate them. And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. We can do that. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew.
My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. Not this time. Change comes to Washington. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam.
Thank you.