It's been almost a month since the State of the Union address by Barack Obama to a joint session of congress. I still want to post my favorite excerpts from that speech because for the previous eight years my country's leader rubbed into my face the fact that he did not care what I thought about the state of our union and would never listen to what I had to say about it. Hearing our new leader speak to the over-arching values of this democracy, and appeal to human kindness and decency while promising not to walk away from we, the everyday people, well, it's astonishingly healing.
Here are the words from that speech that spoke to me most poignantly, and make me willing to attempt patriotism once more:
“It's time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength.”
“From the day I took office, I've been told that addressing our larger challenges is too ambitious; such an effort would be too contentious. I've been told that our political system is too gridlocked, and that we should just put things on hold for a while. For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?”
“By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.”
“Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here.”
“These disagreements, about the role of government in our lives, about our national priorities and our national security, they've been taking place for over 200 years. They're the very essence of our democracy... [but] neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can... It's precisely such politics that has stopped either party from helping the American people. Worse yet, it's sowing further division among our citizens, further distrust in our government. So, no, I will not give up on trying to change the tone of our politics.”
“We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.”
“In the end, it's our ideals, our values that built America -- values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe; values that drive our citizens still. Every day, Americans meet their responsibilities to their families and their employers. Time and again, they lend a hand to their neighbors and give back to their country. They take pride in their labor, and are generous in spirit. These aren't Republican values or Democratic values that they're living by; business values or labor values. They're American values.”
“Each time… politicians tear each other down instead of lifting this country up, we lose faith.”
“Democracy in a nation of 300 million people can be noisy and messy and complicated... (but) The only reason we are here is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive."
“The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in its people. We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don't quit. I don't quit. Let's seize this moment -- to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.”
No comments:
Post a Comment