The Speech I Wish a Presidential Candidate Would Give

My fellow Americans, greetings. Today I want to remind you of a few things that I think are part of what makes our country great, and why these things matter.

But first, let’s talk about what is true of our current reality. It is true that we live in a perilous time. Abroad we have a very real enemy who is set on not only destroying us, but most of the western world and the values we hold dear. We have an enemy who is ruthless and by their actions shows a disregard for human life, even their own, and thus, total commitment to their cause. And that total commitment we have seen drive them to strike and harm innocent people in the streets of Paris and San Diego, drive innocent families and children from their homes in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere, rape and murder, denying basic human rights, like education and freedom of religion to all those under their realm. They forge and leave behind them an evil path of destruction and carnage and they believe that these acts are a necessary part of honoring their god. They will stop at nothing in order to achieve their ends. And let’s be honest, we know that NO MATTER what we do, we can’t make our own borders 100% secure. Therefore, they MUST be defeated and until they are utterly and wholly defeated, there will always be a risk we live with. And this scares us.

And it also scares us because there is no clear road to victory. There is no simple solution. Each side has what they think is their fool-proof plan to victory, but we all know that the problem is murky. “Bombing the hell ‘outta them,” as one candidate has proposed, intelligence shows won’t work. We certainly don’t want to commit ground troops. The local armies have not proven themselves very capable. And we fear arming militias will be the next decades problem. There is no simple solution, the way is not clear, and this scares us.

At home we continue to see communities divided by race. Regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum, we should all be able to agree that at best we are divided. We see people of color afraid and distrustful and fed up after generations of systemic policies that have denied them the same opportunities as other fellow Americans. We see even now, people in power resistant to the idea that their privilege is a real thing. There have been too many innocent lives lost, to many injustices. And this includes good and honest policemen and women who honestly pursue their jobs without prejudice and bias. This is an injustice as well. We are afraid to embrace a both/and mentality. We are afraid to say that we are against police brutality AND for the police. So out of fear, we choose sides and demonize the other, regardless of right and wrong.

One side scared to admit that while we are a great nation with a rich history, we are also not without fault. We have made mistakes. We have, perhaps at times inadvertently, but also at times purposely, made this society of white privilege and systems in place to ensure that privilege prevails. We have not made available to our brothers and sisters of color the same opportunities. We have not treated them equal. Look at the racist housing policies of the 30s, 40s and 50s that denied loans to people of color and relegated where they could and could not live, thus creating ghettoes. Even today we have at least one supreme court justice revealing his own belief that people of color can’t succeed at our most prestigious universities. This should grieve us.

Yet there will still be some who resist. Because to admit this, we also have to admit our faults, our mistakes. We fail to see our sins because it scares us to admit that our great country has also caused great pain. To some this feels unpatriotic even. But does the acknowledgement of mistakes make us less great? Could learning from those mistakes make us greater still?

It is also true that while more Americans are working today than in years past, we still feel a sense of economic instability, a sense that it could all come crashing down at any moment. After the crash of the housing market in 2007 we are now distrustful of banking institutions and Wall Street and our economic stability feels fluid as if we are just one bad day, one OPEC decision, one banking corruption away from a severe market crash and the loss of our jobs. And we have more debt than ever and like to live beyond our means, which not only adds to the instability but also adds to the fear. What if it all goes away?

It is also true that there is much suffering and injustice in the world that has caused many to seek their dreams of a fresh start and a better life here within our borders. They come here because of their knowledge of our values - freedom for all, democracy, education, etc. Most believe this is their only chance so they pursue it legally, or illegally, whatever the costs. Many of these folks, in spite of what we know of how refugees are vetted, in spite of the process that has kept us safe over and over again, we fear are our enemies. And this scares us. So we sacrifice who we are and what we value and reject the least of these, thus communicating to those in need that regardless of what is on paper, we really believe that freedom and democracy are only for a few. We are participating in the holocaust of our day, simply because we are afraid. We are repeating the worst parts of our history.

So what is true is that we are afraid. And we are divided. And our response has been to isolate, refuse to listen to each other and demonize anyone different than us and listen to intimidating politicians who honestly, are the worst of us. This fear paralyzes us, sends us to our bunkers, refusing to work together to find compromise and do what is right, afraid of the costs.

But, my fellow Americans, I say to you, WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS. This is NOT who we are. This is how we feel. But who we are and how we feel are two very different things. And we must not move forward based on how we feel. We must remember who we are. We must remember what sets us apart, what makes us great.

“We the People of the United States” -  This country has always been about you and me and all of us. We are the People. We have a democracy, no matter how poorly executed in the past, that gives us all a voice. Today, we must reclaim that voice. We must reclaim it from angry, misogynistic, narcissistic, racist politicians who claim to represent us, but only stoke the embers of fear. We must reclaim it from establishment politicians who continue to demonize the other side and refuse to listen to each other. We must reclaim it from large corporations who value money more than what is right, who believe they can buy an election to protect their own self interests. And we must reclaim it from the media who sensationalize the bigger story while missing the better story.

And we must work together. We must acknowledge that neither side holds a monopoly on truth and that both sides hold some. We MUST work together. We must put aside our differences and without holding onto ideology for ideology’s sake, honestly listen to each other and work together for the greater good. Regardless of where we fall politically, we must stop refusing to acknowledge that the other side has good ideas too. We must put “We the People” above “we the party.” We must stop believing that our brothers and sisters on the other side of the aisle are our enemies.

We the people CAN work together to exact the change we need. We CAN work together to protect our nation, to defeat our enemies, to balance our budget and stabilize our economy. We CAN work together to heal the racial wounds of our nation and correct the policies and systems of the past. And we CAN work together to be meet the needs of the suffering who come to our shores. We CAN help the least of these.

And we can do all of this boldly because we are the United States of America. As imperfect as we are, we still remain truly blessed and strong. We remain the home of the brave and land of the free. The United States doesn't cower in fear. We stand tall and continue to boldly wave the banners of democracy and freedom so all can see our unity and strength. We don't compromise our values, we don't cower behind walls, we boldly wave our values high and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

I offer no specific solutions today. I offer a call. A call to rise above the fray. A call to step out of our fear. A call for courage. A call to unite as one American brotherhood and work together to find solutions to the issues we face. A call to strengthen our nation through our unity. And a call to continue the work to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity….”

Together we must stand.

May God bless us in our efforts. May God Bless America.