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The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton's army, marched across Europe. They know they have to work hard to get ahead - and they want to. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. He does not say education or the war. Those are mutual interests.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state.
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. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.
But my journey is part of a larger journey - one shared by all who've ever sought to apply the values of their faith to our society. 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. 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. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight.
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons.
Thank you very much everybody.