I've wondered if it makes sense to bring a child into a country where inequality (in regards to poverty, health, gender, sexuality, education, etc.) makes headlines regularly. Today's inaugural speech gives me hope for our country's future. While a public, prepared inaugural speech won't make instant changes, it marks a positive direction for our country's leadership and a public dialogue.
In the womb and after birth, our child could be anyone and could aspire to be anyone. I can only hope that all of our children have the same opportunities to be his or herself safely, happily and productively. And isn't that the American dream?
I was proud - and tearful - to listen to Obama's speech (which you can read in its entirety here.)
Here was a particularly moving section:
"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm."
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.
In the womb and after birth, our child could be anyone and could aspire to be anyone. I can only hope that all of our children have the same opportunities to be his or herself safely, happily and productively. And isn't that the American dream?
I was proud - and tearful - to listen to Obama's speech (which you can read in its entirety here.)
Here was a particularly moving section:
"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm."
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.
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