Feb

7

“But it can certainly influence the thinking of those who can.”

Filed Under California, Election 2010, Links, United States | Leave a Comment

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 5-4 majority of the United States Supreme Court overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (decided 6-3 in 1990) and thus eliminated the “basis for allowing the Government to limit corporate independent expenditures.”

Moreover, the 5-4 majority justifies their overruling of Austin by claiming that “the First Amendment applies to corporations” and cites First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (decided 5-4 in 1978) and NAACP v. Button (decided 6-3 in 1963).

The Court’s opinion is being interpreted as providing a corporation the same right to free speech as a human being. In my opinion, the 5-4 majority is incorrect in overruling Austin and wrong in granting a corporation the right to free speech. It will take some time for the Court’s decision to be reversed.

It should be clear that corporations already exercise their right to free speech at a state level. The Court’s decision simply opens the proverbial gates of hell at a federal level.

With efforts already underway across the country and in Congress to mitigate the affect of the Court’s decision, the question is what can we do to inoculate ourselves from the onslaught of corporations exercising their right to free speech?

…

First and foremost, I believe each election matters, plain and simple, whether it’s your local school board or President of the United States.

Let’s think about the impact of elections on a local school board level:

  • A local school board decides what classes your children will be able to take.
  • Do you want your kid to become a doctor? Great! Then they will need to take advanced biology.
  • Do you know that some schools do not offer advanced biology?
  • If the school your child goes to does not offer advanced biology, what are you going to do about it? Petition the board and/or find a candidate for school board who will champion advanced biology. Board does not care and/or you can’t find a candidate, then run for school board and do it yourself.

Now, let’s think about the impact of elections on a state level.

On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, Californians will vote for 80 state assembly, 20 state senate, 53 congressional, 1 senatorial, 8 statewide offices and 5 statewide propositions.

People will start voting-by-mail as early as Monday, May 10, 2010, nearly a month before election day.

On June 8, and as early as May 10, Californians will vote for or against the following 5 statewide propositions:

  • Proposition 13, Constitutional Amendment, Property tax: new construction exclusion: seismic retrofitting.
  • Proposition 14, Constitutional Amendment, Elections: open primaries.
  • Proposition 15, Statute, Political Reform Act of 1974: California Fair Elections Act of 2008.
  • Proposition 16, Initiative Constitutional Amendment, New Two-Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers.
  • Proposition 17, Initiative Statute, Allows Auto Insurance Companies to Base Their Prices in Part on a Driver’s History of Insurance Coverage.

Now, what do we know about these propositions? #13 is bad luck; #14 reminds me of my brother’s favorite soccer jersey number; #15 can only be divided by prime numbers; #16 would have been sweet, but I am not a girl; #17 is how old I was when I graduated high school (I turned 18 a week later). So to answer the question, at this point, not much.

From right… now, until… June 8, 7:59pm, we will be under the influence (and no, I am not talking about that), but the influence of our family, friends, local leaders, elected officials, political parties, labor unions and corporations to vote for or against these propositions.

Let’s look at who is officially for or against these propositions as of now:

Five Propositions, Support/Opposition

Click Image for Larger View

According to the chart above, a couple of things:

Proposition 13, Constitutional Amendment, Property tax: new construction exclusion: seismic retrofitting.

  • There is no support or opposition yet. This would imply it’s non-controversial at the moment or of less importance to organized interests.

Proposition 14, Constitutional Amendment, Elections: open primaries.

  • There is both support and opposition.
  • The support side has plenty of money to hire a consultant, build a website and air some radio advertisements in smaller media markets.
  • The opposition side has not reported its funding levels. I expect this to change soon.

Proposition 15, Statute, Political Reform Act of 1974: California Fair Elections Act of 2008.

  • There is support, but no opposition yet.
  • The support side has enough resources to hire a consultant, build a website and air some radio advertisements in smaller media markets.
  • I expect the opposition side to form late in April or mid-May and spend a ton of money on television and radio advertisements. There is no benefit to organizing early. If internal polling shows its winning, expect an infusion of resources from the opposition side who expect to lose from this proposition.

Proposition 16, Initiative Constitutional Amendment, New Two-Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers.

Proposition 17, Initiative Statute, Allows Auto Insurance Companies to Base Their Prices in Part on a Driver’s History of Insurance Coverage.

  • There is opposition, but no support yet.
  • The opposition has enough resources to hire a consultant, build a website and air some radio advertisements in smaller media markets.
  • I expect the support side to come in late April/early May. Again, if internal polling shows its losing, expect an infusion of resources from the support side who expect to win from this proposition.

Proposition 16 attracts my attention and highlights my earlier statement that corporations already exercise their right to free speech at a state level.

If you clicked “Click here to see who…” link above, you’ll find that Pacific Gas & Electric donated $750,000, another $750,000, a whopping $1.5 million and another mere $500,000 for a grand total, $3.5 million dollars.

Take this example and imagine it replicated across the country, in 50 states, over 435 congressional seats and 100 senate seats.

…

Returning to the question that I asked earlier, so what can we do to inoculate ourselves from the onslaught of corporations exercising their right to free speech?

You just did it by reading this post. You armed yourself with information. But there is more to know and at the very least, when you start to hearing and reading about Proposition 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, you have a better sense of who really is supporting or opposing it.

But the onslaught has just begun and a corporation now has the same right to free speech that you do. The ultimate difference between a person and a corporation is that a corporation cannot vote, but it can certainly influence the thinking of those who can.
Name Total Contributions in 2009 Cash on Hand at end of 2009
13 Support n/a n/a n/a
13 Oppose n/a n/a n/a
14 Support CALIFORNIANS FOR AN OPEN PRIMARY $138,000.00 $137,794.12
14 Oppose PROTECT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY – SAY NO TO THE OPEN PRIMARY n/a n/a
15 Support CALIFORNIA COMMON CAUSE FAIR ELECTIONS COMMITTEE n/a n/a
15 Support CALIFORNIANS FOR FAIR ELECTIONS SPONSORED BY CALIFORNIA CLEAN MONEY ACTION FUND $221,990.62 $78,801.29
15 Support CALIFORNIA CLEAN MONEY ACTION FUND n/a n/a
16 Support CALIFORNIANS TO PROTECT OUR RIGHT TO VOTE MAJOR FUNDING FROM PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY A COALITION OF TAXPAYERS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, RENEWABLE ENERGY, BUSINESS AND LABOR $3,500,000.00 $27,800.82
16 Oppose TAXPAYERS AGAINST THE PG&E POWERGRAB, SPONSORED BY LOCAL POWER INC. & THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK $5,525.00 $98.17
17 Support n/a n/a n/a
17 Oppose CALIFORNIANS FOR REAL INSURANCE REFORM: SPONSORED BY CAMPAIGN FOR CONSUMER RIGHTS $117,451.84 $96,500.86

Jan

30

President’s Question Time

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President Obama’s question time before the House Republicans days ago displayed the high energy, keen intellectual, strike with truth approach that garnered the President his seat in the Oval Office.

After listening to his speech, watching him take questions, answer them with unwavering logic and commanding presence, I am fired up and ready to go.

This is a turning point in our politics, the art of presidential oratory and a rallying cry for those who sought change with our votes, demanded change with our words and now can drive change by using the same strike with truth approach the President used. Watch the video for yourself.

Jan

24

“But by the choice of those before us”

Filed Under California, CCC, CSU, Education, Human Development, Links, UC | Leave a Comment

A half-century ago, the leaders of California made a commitment to the future. That commitment was based on the belief in a free public higher education; that commitment was named the Master Plan for Higher Education.

The Master Plan created the three-tiered system for public higher education. It formed the California Community Colleges system, a network of 110 campuses, where any individual over the age of 18 and a desire to learn could go to obtain an Associate’s degree, a certificate or prepare to transfer to a 4-year institution.

It formed the California State University system, a web of 23 campuses, where any individuals who met certain qualifications could pursue a Bachelor’s, Master’s and selected Doctoral degrees.  Many of California’s teachers, nurses and engineers got their start at a state university.

Lastly, it established the University of California, a research hub of 10 campuses, where any individuals who met certain qualifications could pursue degrees on par with those offered at the State University in addition to study law, dentistry and medicine. Moreover, it was the de facto research arm of the state, discovering and creating new knowledge.

Together, the three systems form the pipeline of California’s future entrepreneurs, teachers, public servants, doctors and leaders.  With the power of one belief, to the power of 3 systems, to the power of 143 campuses, to the power of millions of students, there lies a promise to the future of California and the world.

Since then, the Master Plan and the belief it was based on has been under assault.

This assault began in 1978, when a majority of voters fundamentally, and unknowingly, changed our society from majority democracy to minority tyranny. Proposition 13 amended the state constitution to require two-thirds of the legislature to approve budgets or raise taxes, instead of a democratic majority.

In 1978, an individual had to pay $0 to attend community college, $212 to attend a California State University and $720 to attend a University of California. Thirty years later, in 2009, an individual has to pay $600 to attend community college, $3,797 to attend a California State University and $8,020 to attend a University of California.

Five years after Proposition 13 passed, in 1983, the belief in a free public higher education died when students had to pay $100 to attend community college.

Our representative government is controlled by a minority tyranny because of Proposition 13 and has maintained a public policy of imposing fees on individuals who seek higher education and knowledge.

For all allowance, for all the financial aid, for all the scholarships, for all the jobs, that a student can get, receive, obtain and work, this very poisonous notion that it cost to access a higher education is detrimental at the least and damning at the most.

It is this very poisonous notion that leads individuals, families and communities to perceive that they cannot afford college; that they will not be able to pursue higher education; that education is not and isn’t supposed to be free and that the knowledge obtained through such education is limited only to those who can pay.

What bothers me most about this very poisonous notion is not the immediate cost it had on me and my family, but the affect it has to limit our communities’ ability to experience a world of new knowledge.

When people cannot obtain higher education, they cannot readily formulate new scientific theories, express new thoughts about culture and society, find new cures to cancers and diseases, envision new ways of harnessing the power of the sun, earth and water, implement new ways to perform life saving medical procedures, discover new life forms in the depths of our oceans and beyond the galaxies we can see, and produce a foundation of knowledge for the next generation to build upon.

Our generation understands this; that is why we are fighting, with tooth and nail and sweat and blood.

We must continue to do whatever it takes to wipe away this very poisonous notion and restore belief in a free public higher education. This must eventually be achieved by restoring majority democracy and enacting public policy that invests in higher education. It is only by doing so that the next generation will have the means to access a world of new knowledge left undiscovered by our generation, not by our own choice, but by the choice of those before us.

Dec

31

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year! 2009 was a life changing year. I started the year working in our state Capitol and now end the year working in our nation’s Capitol.

Drove up from Bellflower to Merced, and from there to Yosemite National Park with Mayra in my new Saturn.

I traveled to Santa Barbara with a new friends for my first statewide California Young Democrats meeting.

Flew to Riverside in March for the UC Board of Regents and had pizza with my friend from community college.

Traveled up and down the Central Valley regularly in the first half, attended Mayra’s graduation in May where First Lady Michelle Obama spoke.

Traveled home in the early fall for my parents’ birthdays.

Drove, walk and knocked on doors throughout California’s 10th congressional district from August to November.

And the grand finale, moved from Sacramento to Washington DC to work for now Congressman Garamendi. Living in Dupont Circle now. Spent my first Thanksgiving away from home with UC Merced friends in Baltimore.

The journey has been incredible. I have learned a lot.

Learned about higher education policy while I worked for the Lt. Governor. Better understood the Regents, CSU and CCC systems on a statewide level, the impact of declining state support for education and the need to more aggressively invest in our future.

Worked on a congressional campaign. Learned strategy from one of California’s best: the late and great Bill Cavala, 30+ year veteran of state politics. I’ll never forget his willingness to answer my questions about strategy and tactics. He was a kind-hearted fellow.

Better appreciated the importance of Congress by seeing a newly elected Congressman be a critical vote on the most significant piece of legislation in a generation: health care reform. The night of the health care vote, Congressman Garamendi seemed to be reflecting on the moment in history as we walked with him. “Remember this, enjoy it.” Glad to be apart of the moment.

Came to understand the life is not as simple, easy or black and white. Things are complicated, life is complicated and in the day-to-day, hustle and bustle of life, we can sometimes forget, ignore and be blind to what is important and what matters.

I have had my shares of ups and downs, highs and lows throughout the year. But what is most important is learning from it all, growing from it all and moving forward with a clearer sense of yourself and the world we live in.

Again, Happy New Year! I am here in Bellflower, spending it with my family, like I have for the past 5 years.

Dec

26

Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas! I am home home with my family. It’s great to be here with them! This is my first time in Los Angeles since August. Around 4 months being away from the place I grew up is a long time, nearly too long. I have been eating pozole, tamales and hot chocolate. I saw Avatar last night. I recommend watching it. It’s just a fascinating movie. I have been letting my mind unwind from the hustle and bustle of a campaign, move to DC and work, in what some are saying the busiest time ever, in Congress. I am enjoying the my studio in Dupont Circle and as DC becomes home, nothing will ever be “home home” like Bellflower.

Nov

26

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I am traveling to Baltimore to spend Thanksgiving with fellow UC Merced Bobcats Efferman and JoJo! Woo hoo!

I will miss the family fest this year; my first Thanksgiving out of California.

Sep

10

F*** the Staus Quo

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I just finished talking to my dad and my parents are on the brink of losing everything they have worked for their entire lives because the system is designed to force failure before you can be helped.

I am listening to White Rabbits’ “Percussion Gun” on my iPhone.

Just got a Google Alert for “university of california” and read on Students for California’s Future Facebook page that the UC plans to increase fees 32%.

Yesterday, the President delivered one of the most powerful speeches of his presidency. “I will not back down” is the phrase that echoes in my mind. Health care is a right. No one should go broke and no one should die because they don’t have health care.

Some Republican legislator in California resigned in disgrace and other Republican in South Carolina is facing a growing challenge for screaming “You Lie” at the President of the United States of America during a Joint Session of Congress. Wow.

These are extraordinary times.

My entire life I have rejected reality. I do not accept the status quo. Anything and everything that is considered “given” is false in both absolute and relative terms.

I spoke with the current ASCC President earlier today and it was refreshing because he has the same steel and determination to make change that I had and still do.

Nothing is cut and dry.

I got a text message from a youth leader and friend who said “I want to help” fight this damn near insane fee increases that will destroy opportunity for a generation of students.

Another friend of super caliber called and asked how things were going.

Another friend’s call I need to return.

Nothing is cut and dry.

Looking at everything that I could do in life, there is nothing else I would do than help a man of considerable knowledge, might and focus continue on his path towards greatness: an election is a means to governance.

I received a reply from one of my former professors that implies there is nothing left to do to save a program that took years to build; the despair in his words are as dark as the night.

I went running in the opposite direction that I was suppose to be going on L Street in Sacramento; my legs are sore but I am reminded of running 800 meters to the point of exhaustion each week in high school.

Take nothing for granted.

As I read more and more, I find that I want to read even more.

A reporter called; I thought she wanted to request an interview and instead she began asking me questions about an program that is an incubator of the future minds of public policy.

I rescheduled my LSAT to February. Arguments, Reading Comprehensive and Games and an Essay. Sounds funs.

Take nothing as given. Ever.

I have a plane ticket to Chicago that expires in August 2010.

These are extraordinary times and demand extraordinary leaders and extraordinary action.

The drums beat.

I just finished talking to my dad and closed my conversation with Forrest Gump. Bubba Gump Shrimp is the result of a man not listening to the conventional wisdom and docking as the hurricane approached. Instead, Forrest stayed out at sea and cast his net. He brought up little. As the storm approached; he hunkered down far off in sea. As the storm passed, he return to the docks to find that all the other boats were landed or destoryed. He was the only boat left. He cast his net again. He brough up much.

F*** the status quo.

Apr

20

CHESS

Filed Under CSU, Education, Links | Leave a Comment

This weekend was the California Higher Education Student Summit in Sacramento, California.

It’s my second year participating in CHESS. Last year, I did a workshop with Olgalilia and Miguel. It was great!

This year, I teamed up with Olgalilia and Jose to help train students from Central California. w00t!

I enjoying teaching, training, whatever you want to call it. It’s fun to spark discussion, ask questions, give answers, and have a better understanding of things after the intellectual give and take of a classroom-like setting.

I was really fired up on Sunday after our lobby visit preparation, mock lobby visit and discussion. There is so much at stake and students and younger people are on the front lines in the Capitol arguing the need to invest in education.

Mayra was sitting in the back row observing. It was great to have her there; her presence in reassuring and inspiring. Her and I have talked about the future and what it will look like. There is much work to do.

Check out http://www.csustudents.org/about_cssa/chess/ for more info about the conference.

Also, check out http://www.studentsforcalifornia.org as well.

Mar

9

Recent Travels

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A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to UC Santa Barbara for the California Young Democrats Executive Board (E-Board) meeting with some folks from Sacramento. The drive was long, the company and chat was good, both Friday and Saturday nights were great and I had an overall great time. It was my first E-Board meeting and so I got to meet a lot of interesting, cool, dedicated and inspiring folks. Glad I made the trip! ;-)

Jan

21

A New President

Filed Under Barack Obama, Election 2008, Links, Political Participation, United States | Leave a Comment

Simply amazing. We have a new president for a new era in our nation’s history. I was in Merced, with Mayra, to listen to the speech. A truly historic moment. Over 2 years of hard work has resulted in the election of our new president.

Below is the full text of President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address.

Inaugural Address

By President Barack Hussein Obama

My fellow citizens:  I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you’ve bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation — (applause) — as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.  At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.

So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.  Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.  Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.  Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered.  Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many — and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.  Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.  They are serious and they are many.  They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.  But know this America:  They will be met.  (Applause.)

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.  On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.  We remain a young nation.  But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.  The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.  (Applause.)

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given.  It must be earned.  Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.  It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.  Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor — who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.  For us, they toiled in sweatshops, and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip, and plowed the hard earth.  For us, they fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.  They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today.  We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.  Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.  Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, or last month, or last year.  Our capacity remains undiminished.  But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed.  Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.  (Applause.)

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift.  And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.  We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.  We’ll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.  We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.  And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.  All this we can do.  All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.  Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.  What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.  Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.  Where the answer is no, programs will end.  And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.  Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.  But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.  The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.  The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.  (Applause.)

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.  Our Founding Fathers — (applause) — our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man — a charter expanded by the blood of generations.  Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake.  (Applause.)

And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.  And we are ready to lead once more.  (Applause.)

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.  They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.  Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy.  Guided by these principles once more we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.  We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.  With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense.  And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.  (Applause.)

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.  We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.  We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.  (Applause.)

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.  (Applause.)

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.  And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.  For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hour patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.  They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are the guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service — a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.  For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.  It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.  It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new.  The instruments with which we meet them may be new.  But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old.  These things are true.  They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths.  What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.  This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.  This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.  (Applause.)

So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.  In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.  The capital was abandoned.  The enemy was advancing.  The snow was stained with blood.  At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America:  In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.  With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.  Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

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