The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
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. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies. It's been about you. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."
And I found that I recognized in these folks a part of myself. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. 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. The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. That is the spirit we need today.
And as I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I'm hearing from evangelicals who may not agree with progressives on every issue but agree that poverty has no place in a world of plenty; that hate has no place in the hearts of believers; and that we all have to be good stewards of God's creations. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust.
For some, nagging questions remain. Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. Indeed, faith should bring us together.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Because that was the cheapest way to eat. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together.
God bless you.