2004 Barack Obama Keynote Speech

next Illinois State Senator Barack Obama thank you, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you, thank you, dick durbin, you make us all proud on behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of the nation, Land of Lincoln, let me express My more profound 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 quite unlikely. My father was a foreign student born and raised in a small town in Kenya. He grew up herding goats. to school in a tin-roofed hut his father my grandfather was a cook and domestic servant for the British but my grandfather had bigger dreams for his son through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study somewhere magical America that shone like a beacon of freedom and opportunity to 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 for Most of the depression of the day after Pearl Harbor, my grandfather joined Patton's army, marched through Europe and returned home.

My grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line after the war. They studied on the GI Bill. I bought a house through FHA and then moved west. the road 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 a name African. Barack or the blessing believing that in a tolerant United States your name is not a barrier to success, they imagined that they imagine me going to the best schools in the country even if they were not rich because in a generous United States it is not necessary to be rich to achieve your potential both have already passed away and yet I know that tonight they do not look at me with great pride they are here and I am here today grateful for the diversity of my heritage aware that the dreams of my parents live in my two beautiful daughters, I am here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all who came before me, and that in no other country in the world is my story possible.

Tonight we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation not by 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 summarized in a statement made more than 200 years ago . We hold these truths to It is evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which is the true genius of America, a faith, a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small ones. miracles that we can put our children to bed at night and know that they are fed, 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 retaliation 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 ​​in our commitments to oppose them a harsh reality and see how we live up to the legacy of our ancestors and the promise of future generations and our fellow Americans Independent Republican Democrats.

I tell 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 moving to Mexico and now we have to compete with their own children for jobs who pay seven dollars more an hour for the father I knew who was losing his job. and fighting back tears wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the medications his son needs without the health benefits he counted on most for the young woman from East St. Louis and thousands more like her, who have the grades, have the drive, have the will but don't have the money to go to college.

Don't get me wrong, the people I meet in small towns and big cities, in restaurants and office parks, don't expect the government to solve all their problems, they know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to go to the counties around them. Chicago and people will tell you that they don't want a welfare agency wasting your tax money or for the Pentagon they go to any inner city neighborhood and people will tell you that government alone cannot teach our children to learn, they know that parents have to teach them that children can achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the televisions and eradicate the slander that a young black man with a book is acting white, you know those things that People don't wait, people don't expect the government to solve all their problems, but they feel deep in their bones that with just a slight change in priorities, we can ensure that every child in America has a decent chance at life. and that the doors of opportunity remain open for all of them they know that we can do better and they want that option in this election we offer that option our party has chosen a man to lead We are the ones who embody the best that this country has to offer and that man is John Kerry.

John Kerry understands the ideals of faith and community service because they have defined his life from his heroic service in Vietnam to his years as prosecutor and lieutenant governor through two decades in the United States Senate he has dedicated himself to this country time and time again. we have seen him make difficult decisions when there were easier options available his values ​​and his record affirm the best in us John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded then, rather than offering tax breaks to companies that send jobs to the abroad, offers them to companies that create jobs here at home.

John Kerry believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage that our politicians in Washington have. John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we are not hostages to oil company profits or sabotage of foreign oil fields. John Kerry believes in the constitutional freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world and will never sacrifice our basic freedoms or use faith as a wedge. divide us and John Kerry believes that in a dangerous world war should be an option sometimes but should never be the first option, you know, a while ago I met a young man named Seamus at a VFW hall in East Moline Illinois.

He was a good-looking boy, six feet, two, six, three, with light eyes and an easy smile. He told me that he joined the Marine Corps and was heading to Iraq the following week and as he listened to him explain why he didn't listen to Absolute Faith. He had in our country and its leaders his devotion to duty and service. I thought this young man was everything any of us could hope for in a child, but then I asked myself: are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us? I thought of the nine hundred men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors who will not return to their places of origin.

I thought about the families I have known who were struggling to survive without a loved one's full income or whose loved ones had returned missing a limb or with shattered nerves, but still lacked long-term health benefits because they were reservists. When we send our young men and women into danger, we have a solemn obligation not to manipulate the numbers or obscure the truth about why they are to care for their families while they are away, care for soldiers when they return, and never go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world now, let me be clear, Let's be clear: we have real enemies in the world.

These enemies must be found. You have to chase them and defeat them. 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 for a moment to use our military power to keep America safe. John Kerry believes in America and knows that it is not enough for just a few of us to prosper for a long time along with our famous individualism. There is another ingredient in the American economy. saga a belief that we are all connected as one people if there is a child on the south side of Chicago who cannot read that matters to me even if it is not my child if there is an elderly person somewhere who cannot afford his prescription medication and having to choose between medications and rent that impoverishes my life, even if it's not my grandfather, if there is an era in which American families are corralled without the benefit of a lawyer or the due process that governs my civil liberties , it's that fundamental.

Belief is that fundamental belief I am my brother's keeper I am my sister's keeper what makes this country work is what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and still come together as one American family e pluribus unum among many now, even When There are those who are preparing to divide the masters of negative publicity who embrace the politics of anything goes. I tell you tonight that there is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is no United States. black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America, in the end there is 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 us to hope John Edwards calls us to hope I'm not talking here about blind optimism, almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't think about it or that the health care crisis will solve itself alone if we just ignore it that's not what I'm talking about, I'm talking about something more substantial is the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing songs of freedom the hope of immigrants leaving for different distant shores the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta the hope of a factory worker's son who dares to defy the odds the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes America has a place for him too hope hope before difficulties hope in the face of uncertainty the audacity of hope, in the end, is God's greatest gift to us, the foundation of this nation, the belief in things unseen, the belief that there are better days ahead.

I believe we can provide relief to our middle class and give working families a The Path to Opportunity I believe we can provide jobs to unemployed and homeless households and rescue young people in cities across America from the violence and despair. I believe we have a righteous woman behind us and that, as we stand at the crossroads of history, you can make the right decisions and confront the challenges facing America tonight if you feel the same energy as I do if you feel the same urgency If you feel the same passion as me if you feel the same hope as me If we do what we must do, I have no doubt that 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.

The president and this country will reclaim this promise and out of this long political darkness a better day will come. Thank you very much to all. God bless you.