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I was too young to be involved in that movement, but I felt I could play a small part in the continuing battle for justice by helping rebuild some of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods. Our conscience cannot rest so long as nearly 45 million Americans don't have health insurance and the millions more who do are going bankrupt trying to pay for it. But we cannot walk away this time. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.
It's a war I'm proud I opposed from the start - a war that should never have been authorized and never been waged. And that is why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend upon.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. "I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. 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. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for.
It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work.
Thank you.