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That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least, most of the time. So let's rededicate ourselves to a new kind of politics - a politics of conscience. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election.
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. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class. That promise is our greatest inheritance. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.
And it's around this time that some pastors I was working with came up to me and asked if I was a member of a church. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old - is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.
And as I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. From Willow Creek to the 'emerging church,' from the Southern Baptist Convention to the National Association of Evangelicals, folks are realizing that the four walls of the church are too small for a big God.God is still speaking.
Thank you.