Barack
Obama
2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
delivered 27 July 2004, Fleet Center, Boston
[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from
audio. (2)]
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dick Durbin.
You make us all proud.
On behalf of the great state of Illinois,
crossroads of a nation, Land of Lincoln, let me express my deepest gratitude for
the privilege of addressing this convention.
Tonight is a particular honor for me because,
let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a
foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding
goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father -- my grandfather -- was a
cook, a domestic servant to the British.
But my grandfather had larger dreams for his
son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in
a magical place, America, that shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to
so many who had come before.
While studying here, my father met my mother.
She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father
worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl
Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton’s army, marched across
Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber
assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house
through F.H.A., and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of
opportunity.
And they, too, had big dreams for their
daughter. A common dream, born of two continents.
My parents shared not only an improbable love,
they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would
give me an African name, Barack, or ”blessed,” believing that in a tolerant
America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined -- They imagined me
going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in
a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential.
They're both passed away now. And yet, I know
that on this night they look down on me with great pride.
They stand here -- And I stand here today,
grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on
in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the
larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and
that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.
Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of
our Nation -- not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our
military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple
premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That is the true genius of America, a faith --
a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in
our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm;
that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden
knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without
paying a bribe; 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.
This year, in this election we are called to
reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and
see how we're measuring up to the legacy of our forbearers and the promise of
future generations.
And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans,
Independents, I say to you tonight: We have more work to do -- more work
to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union
jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete
with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour; more to do for
the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears,
wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs
without the health benefits that he counted on; more to do for the young woman
in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the
drive, has the will, but doesn’t have the money to go to college.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The people I meet --
in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks -- they don’t expect
government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get
ahead, and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and
people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency
or by the Pentagon. Go in -- Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will
tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn; they know that
parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their
expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that
says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things.
People don’t expect -- People don't expect
government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones,
that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child
in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain
open to all.
They know we can do better. And they want that
choice.
In this election, we offer that choice. Our
Party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to
offer. And that man is John Kerry.
John Kerry understands the ideals of community,
faith, and service because they’ve defined his life. From his heroic service to
Vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two
decades in the United States Senate, he's devoted himself to this country. Again
and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available.
His values and his record affirm what is
best in us. John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded; so
instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he offers
them to companies creating jobs here at home.
John Kerry believes in an America where all
Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington have
for themselves.
John Kerry believes in energy independence, so
we aren’t held hostage to the profits of oil companies, or the sabotage of
foreign oil fields.
John Kerry believes in the Constitutional
freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world, and he will never
sacrifice our basic liberties, nor use faith as a wedge to divide us.
And John Kerry believes that in a dangerous
world war must be an option sometimes, but it should never be the first option.
You know, a while back -- awhile back I met a
young man named Shamus in a V.F.W. Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a
good-looking kid -- six two, six three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told
me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week. 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 ever hope for in a child.
But then I asked myself, "Are we serving Shamus
as well as he is serving us?"
I thought of the 900 men and women -- sons and
daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who won’t be returning to
their own hometowns. I thought of the families I’ve met who were struggling to
get by without a loved one’s full income, or whose loved ones had returned with
a limb missing or nerves shattered, but still lacked long-term health benefits
because they were Reservists.
When we send our young men and women into
harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the
truth about why they’re going, to care for their families while they’re gone, to
tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without
enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the
world.
Now -- Now let me be clear. Let me be clear. We
have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be
pursued. And they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this. And just as
Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served
with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our
military might to keep America safe and secure.
John Kerry believes in America. And he knows
that it’s not enough for just some of us to prosper -- for alongside our famous
individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga, a belief
that we’re all connected as one people. If there is a child on the south side of
Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there
is a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drugs, and
having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even
if it’s not my grandparent. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up
without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil
liberties.
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. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet
still come together as one American family.
E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one."
Now even as we speak, there are those who are
preparing to divide us -- the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace
the politics of "anything goes." Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a
liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of
America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and
Asian America -- there’s the United States of America.
The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice
our country into red states and blue states; red states for Republicans, blue
states for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an "awesome
God" in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our
libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states and yes,
we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the
war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one
people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us
defending the United States of America.
In the end -- In the end -- In the end, that’s
what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do
we participate in a politics of hope?
John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards
calls on us to hope.
I’m not talking about blind optimism here --
the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just
don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just
ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more
substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom
songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a
young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a
millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a
funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.
Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in
the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!
In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us,
the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are
better days ahead.
I believe that we can give our middle class
relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity.
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.
I believe that we have a righteous wind at our
backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right
choices, and meet the challenges that face us.
America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy
that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion
that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do -- if we do what we must
do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon,
from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry
will be sworn in as President, and John Edwards will be sworn in as Vice
President, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long
political darkness a brighter day will come.
Thank you very much everybody. God bless you.
Thank you.
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