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.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Quote of the Day - Inaugural Speech edition
With yet another brilliant speech, it is difficult to praise only one quote. Many have proposed their favorite excerpts, from commentator to commenter to history-bystander. Here I offer my mine:
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2 comments:
I agree with you Drew. My other favorite part of the speech was the following:
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.
To me this is a call for all of us to grow up and make the nation what is supposed to be.
The scripture reference from 1 Corinthians 13 ends with these words in verse 13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Time to grow up and start back to our task of loving all people and giving them the equality that the Declaration of Independence declared "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
This is going to be the part that will be most remembered, if the level of chatter on the television and the blogosphere are any indicator:
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils 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.
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