The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
John Kerry calls on us to hope. We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work. That's the promise we need to keep.
They're telling me that their conversation about what it means to be Catholic continues. Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles.
It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.
But I've got news for them, too. Now, as children of God, we believe in the worth and dignity of every human being; it doesn't matter where that person came from or what documents they have. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. troops and civilians. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country - you, more than anyone, have the ability to remake this world.
On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. troops and civilians. In all nations - including my own - this change can bring fear.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.