Biden gave the political speech of his life earlier this week in Gettysburg. Here are some of his amazing words (video at the end of article)
He said:
there’s something bigger going on in this nation than just our broken politics. Something darker, something more dangerous. I’m not talking about ordinary differences of opinion, competing viewpoints give life and vibrancy to our democracy. No, I’m talking about something different, something deeper. Too many Americans seek not to overcome our divisions, but to deepen them, we must seek not to build walls, but bridges. We must seek not to have our fist clenched, but our arms open. We have to seek not to tear each other apart, we seek to come together. You don’t have to agree with me on everything, or even on most things, to see that we’re experiencing today is neither good nor normal.
It will be given no license. It will be given no oxygen. It’ll be given no safe harbor. In recent weeks and months, the country has been riled by instances of excessive police force, heart-wrenching cases of racial injustice and lives needlessly and senselessly lost, by peaceful protesters, given voice to the calls for justice, by examples of violence and looting and burning that can not be tolerated.
and:
I also believe injustice is real. It’s a product of a history that goes back 400 years, the moment when black men, women, and children first were brought here in chains. I do not believe we have to choose between law and order, and racial justice in America. We can have both. This is the nation strong enough to both honestly face systemic racism and strong enough to provide safe streets for our families and small businesses.
and:
I made the decision to run for president after Charlottesville. Close your eyes, and remember what you saw. Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and the KKK coming out of the fields with torches light, veins bulging, chanting the same anti-Semitic bile herd across Europe in the ’30s. It was hate on the march, in the open, in America. Hate never goes away, it only hides. And when it’s given oxygen, when it’s given an opportunity to spread, when it’s treated as normal and acceptable behavior, we’ve opened a door in this country that we must move quickly to close. As president, that’s just what I will do. I will send a clear unequivocal message to the entire nation, there is no place for hate in America.
and this:
I’ll be a president who pushes toward the future, not one who clings to the past. I’m ready to fight for you and for our nation every day, without exception, without reservation, with a full and devoted heart. We cannot, and will not, allow extremists and white supremacist to overturn the America of Lincoln and Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglas, to overturn the America that has welcomed immigrants from distant shores, to overturn the America that has been a Haven and a home for everyone, no matter their background.
From Seneca falls to Selma, to Stonewall we’re at our best when the promise of America is available to all, we cannot, and we will not allow violence in the street to threaten the people of this nation. We cannot and will not walk away from our obligation to at long last, face the reckoning on race and racial justice in this country
and this:
We cannot and will not accept an economic equation that only favors those who have already got it made; everybody deserves a shot at prosperity. Folks, duty and history call presidents to provide for the common good, and I will. It won’t be easy. Won’t be easy. Our divisions today are long standing, economic and racial inequities have shaped us for generations, but I give you my word. I give you my word. If I’m elected president, I will Marshall the ingenuity and Goodwill of this nation to turn division into unity and bring us together because I think people are looking for that. We can disagree about how as we move forward, we must take the first steps. It starts with how we treat one another. How we talk to one another. How we respect one another.
and this:
Every generation that has followed Gettysburg has been faced with a moment when it must answer this question, whether it will allow the sacrifices made here to be in vain, or be fulfilled.
This is our moment to answer this essential American question.
Let's conduct ourselves as Americans who love each other, who love our country. We owe that to the dead who are buried here at Gettysburg; we owe that to the living and the future generations yet to be born
and this:
You and I are part of a covenant, a common story of divisions overcome and hope renewed. If we do our part, if we stand together, if we keep faith with the past and with each other, then the divisions of our time will give way to the dreams of a brighter, better future. This is our work. This is our pledge. This is our mission. We can end this era of division. We can end the hate and the fear. We can be what we are at our best, the United States of America.
It is only 20 minutes, so when you have those 20 minutes, you should watch the whole thing (scroll to the last video). It is that good.
But if you don’t have 20 minutes right now, here are some highlights:
On where we are right now:
on working together:
on what it takes for Black Americans to love America
the full speech
Joe Biden will work hard to unite America.
Joe Biden will be a great president.
This is Day 82 in my series 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden
Did you miss any of the 100 days? Here are links for all of them:
- Day 63: Biden ran his very first campaign in 1972 on the issues that are still central to us today -- voting rights, civil rights, crime, clean water and air, pension protection, and health care.
- Day 64: Biden has worked for campaign finance reform for his whole career. He can bring real change as president.
- Day 65: Biden surrounds himself with a diverse group of advisors and plans to do so in the White House as well. Representation matters.
- Day 66: Biden has a great plan for dealing with Iran
- Day 67: Biden has an aggressive plan to fight climate change
- Day 68: Even when you disagree with Biden, you will know that his heart is in the right place.
- Day 69: Biden loved the Biden/Obama memes which shows us more evidence of the person Joe is — someone fun, who can laugh at himself, and who values his friendship with another man enough to want to enjoy reminders of that bond.
- Day 70: Biden is running for president for the right reasons. Trump’s “very fine people on both sides” response to Charlottesville, motivated him to run. Biden is running for president because he loves our country too much to stand on the sidelines and not do all he can to save it
- Day 71: Joe Biden doesn't hold personal grudges. He has the maturity to see that every slight or misstep is not about him and that gives him the ability to focus on what really needs to be done for the good of the country.
- Day 72: Biden believes in democracy. Throughout his 40 years of public service, he has repeatedly shown that he sees elected office as a sacred trust where you work to make people’s lives better. He will fight like hell for that now, after November 3rd, and after his inauguration as our 46th president.
- Day 73: Joe has championed funding and application of basic and applied science for his entire career.
- Day 74: Biden has a great plan for Puerto Rico
- Day 75: Biden is not an elitist
- Day 76: Biden will nominate great justices
- Day 77: Biden is just the right mix of pragmatic and idealistic
- Day 78: Biden supports the rights of transgender people
- Day 79: Biden won’t have anyone from the fossil fuel industry (or any lobbyists) on his transition team
- Day 80: Biden is responsible for funding to provide the MRAP vehicles that saved many lives.
- Day 81: Biden is a progressive in the true sense of the word. Being a progressive means not just wanting our society to progress to a better place (which he does), but being listen to other people, learn, and change.