奥巴马在罗格斯大学毕业演讲

奥巴马在罗格斯大学毕业演讲

Hi, everybody. On behalf of the Obama family - Michelle, Malia, Sasha,

Grandma, Bo, and Sunny - I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Like so

many of you, we ll spend the day with friends and family, turkey and touchdowns.

We ll give thanks for each other, and for all that God has given us. And we ll reflect

on what truly binds us as Americans.

That s never been more important. As a country, we ve just emerged from a

noisy, passionate, and sometimes divisive campaign season. After all, elections are

often where we emphasize what sets us apart. We face off in a contest of us

versus them. We focus on the candidate we support instead of some of the

ideals we share.

But a few short weeks later, Thanksgiving reminds us that no matter our

differences, we are still one people, part of something bigger than ourselves. We

are communities that move forward together. We are neighbors who look out for

one another, especially those among us with the least. We are always, simply,

Americans.

That s why, through the fog of Civil War, President Lincoln saw what mattered

most - the unalienable truths for which so many gave their lives, and which made

possible a new birth of freedom. And so precisely when the fate of the Union

hung in the balance, he boldly proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving, when the nation

s gifts should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one

heart and one voice by the whole American people.

Today, we continue to give thanks for those blessings, and to all who ensured

that they would be our inheritance. We remember the determined patriots who

landed at the edge of the world in search of freedom. We give thanks to the brave

men and women who defend that freedom in every corner of the world. And we

honor all people - from the First Americans to our newest arrivals - who continue

to shape our nation s story, enrich our heritage, and give meaning to our founding

values, values we must never take for granted. That in America, we are bound not

by any one race or religion, but rather an adherence to a common belief - that all

of us are created equal. That we may think, worship, and speak, and love as we

please. That the gift of democracy is ours, and ours alone, to nurture and protect.

Never doubt, that is what makes us American - not where we come from, what

we look like, or what faith we practice, but the ideals to which we pledge our

allegiance. It s about our capacity to live up to the creed as old as our founding: E

Pluribus Unum - that out of many, we are one. And as long as we continue to

welcome the contributions of all people, as long as we stand up for each other,

speak out for what is right, and stay true to these ideals - not just when it s easy,

but when it s hard - then no one can ever take away our liberty. Our best days will

always be ahead. And we will keep building a future where all of our children know

the promise of America.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.