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Let's come together - Protestant and Catholic, Muslim and Hindu and Jew, believer and non-believer alike. For we have a choice in this country. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions.
That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.
John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded; so instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he offers them to companies creating jobs here at home. In the end, that's what this election is about. In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity: We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past. 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.
Hope in the face of difficulty. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. But we can only achieve it together.
Again and again, we've seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. 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. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
Thank you, and God bless America.