Obama Ipsum

I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort - that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash.

It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. "We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried.

Theirs are the stories that shaped me. This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. 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. And it's a lesson we need to remember today - as members of another Joshua generation. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. For we have a choice in this country. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt.

Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. Our government should work for us, not against us. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.

Thank you.