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It is that fundamental belief, it is that fundamental belief, I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper that makes this country work. A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. 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. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government. That is the spirit we need today.
That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.
Tonight is a particular honor for me because - let's face it - my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. More to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on. I understand you switched venues at considerable expense and inconvenience because of unfair labor practices at the place you were going to be having this synod. There is real evil and hardship and pain and suffering in the world and we should be humble in our belief that we can eliminate them. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail.
I'm talking about something more substantial. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. And I've seen it in this campaign.
For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own.
God bless you.