The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
But my personal story is not so unique. So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. But we can only achieve it together.
While studying here, my father met my mother. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one. 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 then another one. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.
Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. 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. I just think he doesn't know. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.
That's why pastors, friends of mine like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes and organizations like World Vision and Catholic Charities are wielding their enormous influence to confront poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the genocide in Darfur. America, this is one of those moments. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. 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.
He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank.
God bless you.