We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
It's been "We" since the very beginning...
There's been an awful lot of talk about words lately, but tonight in Texas and Ohio and Rhode Island and Vermont, there are voters of great intelligence and with a profound sense of moral and civic duty watching the speeches of the two democratic candidates for the presidency of this nation, and listening to what they say, and how they say it, in order to try to make a profoundly important decision. Not just listening to the the words, but to entire paragraphs and the meanings behind them.
We can never solve our significant problems from the same level of thinking we were at when we created the problems.
-- Albert Einstein
I voted on Super Tuesday in the Alabama Democratic Party primary. Like I have seen other express here recently, as I voted I truly felt I was voting for something, and not just voting against something. I felt like I wasn't just voting for someone who could save us from that which we fear, but but for someone who could inspire us rise above that fear and to seek the justice that has been so long denied. And I felt like I was voting for a different level of thinking than we were at when the problems our nation currently faces were created.
"You cannot become thorough Americans if you think of yourselves in groups. America does not consist of groups. A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in America has not yet become an American." -- Woodrow Wilson
I had been one of those who poured over the speeches, over the policy papers, and I found in the candidate I chose a reason to feel optimistic about our future. Not because they are a particular color, gender or because they are not a particular religion. Not because they went to a particular school. Not because of their particular policies, although I feel very comfortable with their command of the issues and of their ability to apply progressive principles to the decisions they will make on our behalf. Not because they are an eloquent speaker, although I find their oration to be a cool drink of water after the long inspirational and grammatical desert that has been the Bush administration. Not because of their votes in congress, although I find the consistent application of principle regardless of political expediency to be one of the the most admirable traits that a politician can possess.
History will not judge our endeavors--and a government cannot be selected--merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these.
For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us--recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state--our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of courage--with the courage to stand up to one's enemies--and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates--the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
Secondly, were we truly men of judgment--with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past--of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others--with enough wisdom to know that we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?
Third, were we truly men of integrity--men who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed or the people who believed in them--men who believed in us--men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
Finally, were we truly men of dedication--with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest.
- John F. Kennedy
I voted the way I did because I believe I found a candidate who understands the difference between "I will" and "Together we can".
America has been a nation that relies not on the incredible accomplishments of single great presidents, but on the great miracle that is our collective strength and productivity when we are inspired to work together as free people. It not nearly enough merely to be capable of winning, we are looking to find a president worthy and capable of governing and inspiring us as a nation to greater purposes.
Our task is not merely one of itemizing Republican failures. Nor is that wholly necessary. For the families forced from the farm will know how to vote without our telling them. The unemployed miners and textile workers will know how to vote. The old people without medical care--the families without a decent home--the parents of children without adequate food or schools--they all know that it's time for a change.
But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high--to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.
- John F. Kennedy
So voters, if you read this in Texas or Ohio or Vermont or Rhode Island as you are studying the candidates, I would humbly ask you to consider casting your vote for someone that understands the most central principle needed to serve - that they are to be OUR representative, and that it will require change from each and every one of us to keep the candle burning that will lead us to a safe and sane future.
Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.
And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.
It has been "We" since the very beginning. We like it that way.