You should never change how you feel

I wrote this August 15, 2008 and I feel guilty. I don't think I ever fully believed the madness. I never felt like he ever touched a kid but I did want him to fall back a bit. After the first white kid I wanted him to leave them all alone. Mr. Harvey and I shared the same sentiment.

I just wanted Mike to fall back and stop going on tv and talking about the sleep overs with kids. I turned my back on MJ for a spell and now that he is gone I feel terrible.

When I do my community service I will remember fondly Michael and all he did for the world.

3 Minutes

Meant to write more but I had to say something the final minutes of my 20's

HOW IN HOLY FUCK DID THE TIME PASS BY SO QUICKLY

My Life in Photos

I've spent so much time looking at other peoples life through photos and never really spent time looking at my life and my perspective. I've been thinking about it because I'm currently taking Photography for non majors at Stony Brook and our first assignment is to identify what we see.


In this pic I see my #2 Quadisha. To be frank the first time I met Quadisha at our informational I thought who is this stank girl trying to be a Zeta. I hope they don't choose her over me because she was an archonette. I was never more wrong about a person. Behind that sweet smile is a really sweet person that would give her right arm to help someone out. She will make a great social worker because she really does care.











This pic I see my childhood. I remember the countless birthday parties I had and went to and I wonder what goes through their mind. The lives of these children are dramatically different than mine was at that age. I had nothing to worry about and some of the kids in this picture have seen things that I have never seen. One of the things I remember from my childhood was the youth of the adults around me. A couple of dead family members and seeing people not move like they use to really makes you think about your own mortality.





These pics represent one of my deepest fears, not knowing the difference between what I want and what I need. I was recently in a new apartment and yes I needed a new TV. I wanted the 32" flat screen and froze my ass off and almost fought with some yardies as a result. The even bigger irony is the fact that I come home and won't even turn on that TV till 10pm.

It is so true when people say you cannot judge a person that spoils their kids. Josiah is not mine he is just my cousin. And I did go overboard with the presents for a two year old but it was all worth it to see his smile. I remember as I was shopping thinking to myself that he would just look at these items and say ok what now but he didn't. He opened all of his presents that Christmas morning with care and diligence and loved playing with his toys. It was worth being broke for a little while.


My trip to San Diego a few years back. I've always said I've wanted to vacation alone and this trip I pretty much did. Even though I spent the time at Kizzy's spot I spent the days exploring San Diego and TJ on my own. I wonder to myself at times if I spend too much time alone and if that is a good thing. Maybe the more time alone I spend the more guarded and independent I appear to be. Maybe that is what scares off the fellas.



Of course I have hundreds more but many were causaulties of my last hard drive. But with the next five weeks of summer session II there will be more to tell.



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Listening to: Michael Jackson - Human Nature
via FoxyTunes

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

Lately I come home from work and I don't turn on any lights and I don't turn on the TV. I just go straight to the computer and I play around on the internet and I watch and listen to Michael. Now it is no secret that I love Michael and I still mourn his loss but why the obsession?

I think it's two parts to my Michael obsession. First the part that comes from my heart. As far as I can remember my earliest memories involve Michael Jackson. I remember the day we brought the Thriller album and I remember dancing to it with Andrea and Eric in the den. I remember listening to the Jackson's and the Jackson 5. Many of the happiest memories of my childhood were centered around Michael. How do you say thank you to the person that gave up their life so you can have one? I am so grateful for that sacrifice that it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

The other part to my MJ obsession is purely selfish. I feel guilty admitting this but I feel almost like I'm doing to MJ in death what so many did to him in life I'm using him as my distraction.

According to Wikipedia denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead. I am in denial. There is much I have to face but chose not to face it. I wonder how I can be aware of my situation but still do little or nothing to fix it.

That is the kicker

Michael Jackson The Ballads

Trying this so people who are not on imeem can listen to my playlist.

Michael Jackson The Ballads

Since You've Been Gone

For the last week I've inundated myself with Michael Jackson. I've watched videos countless times, listened to his music and watched interviews. I now realize that I am not giving the man the peace he wanted so much in life now that he is dead.

Every crazy article that has come out I've read. I've tried to imagine myself as a Jackson as even being close to being that big of a star. I did not think of myself in the public so much as how he was in his private life. What kind of private life can you have when they have to shut down a grocery store so you can just go food shopping.

The truth is I am ashamed. I am ashamed because I am not allowing Michael to do his job. His job was to provide us with music and entertain us and he did that 1000x over. I am ashamed because I feel like I've been using Michael. For the last week the circus around the man gone too soon has been my distraction. It has prevented me from dealing with all the crazy shit I have going on in my life. I've disguised the fact that I avoid all things difficult and painful in my life. Some people think I'm a saint for all the community service and time I give to other people. And for the most part it is selfless but I don't know if I believe anything in this life is completely selfless. Doing work for other people helps me avoid the personal pain. I think I'm being selfish because I feel if Michael was alive today he would gladly trade in my pain for his. There will never be another person in this world that could feel the same pain as Michael. The only other person the peoples Princess knew the same pain as Michael, but she too was taken from us too soon.

What I have to do is stop avoiding and live the life that Michael so much deserved.

Michael,
I pray that you find the peace in death that you could not find in life

Katherine,
I hope your faith gets you through this and I pray for you

Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II
I know how it feels to lose a parent and I pray that the world allows you to mourn in peace

I pray for anyone that has lost a person that is important to them.



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Listening to: Michael Jackson - Gone Too Soon
via FoxyTunes

There’s no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there’s only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I’m trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics. They has got nothing to do with it. I’m thinking about the general people and when they get hurt.

Bob Dylan

Rest In Peace Mr. Jackson

To all the people who are saying negative things about MJ think about yourself. When you die do you want people to remember that one day you accidentally smudged someone's puma and didn't say excuse me? In death we have to remember the good so we can get through the bad

EDIT: I felt the need to clarify this post. When I wrote it I had spent so much time watching the news and people talking about all the issues he had in life instead of remembering the contribution he made to this world and I am angry about it. I have to say for the record I know that man didn't lay a hand on those little boys. The ones that accused him and received money for this I do not wish you harm. I just hope you can rest easy, knowing you killed a man with a family for money.


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Listening to: Michael Jackson - Never Can Say Goodbye

Sorry Blog

I apologize to the blog for no one gets distressed when I do not write.

I hate all the re posts of other articles. I will find some time soon to post something I write. That maybe coming sooner than later.

Sigh...

Did you know when you do a search for "adult" "black" "anal" movies all that comes up are movies with black women that have unusally large buts?

Who do you contact for false advertising? There has to be someone to complain to.

Sigh...

They Needed a Black Guy

Steele In Serious Hot Water With Social Conservatives

Michael's Steele statement of support for an "individual choice" on abortion has provoked deep concern among social conservatives and spurred further speculation that his tenure at the RNC will be brief.

On Wednesday, the RNC Chair walked back a remark he made in an interview with GQ Magazine, declaring unequivocally: "I am pro-life, always have been, always will be." But even with the quick clarification, the damage was done.

On Thursday, several religious right officials and anti-abortion advocates criticized Steele for telling the magazine that he "absolutely" thought abortion was "an individual choice," to be decided at the state level.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: "Comments attributed to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are very troubling and despite his clarification today the party stands to lose many of its members and a great deal of its support in the trenches of grassroots politics."

Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition: "I'm a little surprised that Michael Steele, being the leader of the Republican Party, is at odds with the pro-life platform, the platform that conservative put in place... If this is his viewpoint, he has made it be known. I'm just surprised that the leader of the party is at odds with the pro-life platform."

Evangelical leader Lou Engle: "Steele's argument that abortion is a matter of "individual choice" is extremely disappointing, especially in light of past statements in which he promised to protect and defend human life. "Steele's remarks to GQ indicate that he may be confused about "choice" and the "law." The law is supposed to protect human life, not permit the taking of it. And, it can never be a "choice" for an individual to take a life."

Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council: "I read the article last night so I am familiar not only with his comments about the life issue but also about the efforts to redefine marriage and 'mucking' up the Constitution. I expressed my concerns to the chairman earlier this week about previous statements that were very similar in nature. He assured me as chairman his views did not matter and that he would be upholding and promoting the Party platform, which is very clear on these issues. It is very difficult to reconcile the GQ interview with the chairman's pledge."

Talk that this new rhetorical misstep could result in Steele stepping aide was batted down in conversations with several social conservative officials. He should be granted some time to find firm footing, was the usual refrain. But in private, several Republicans expressed bewilderment and frustration with Steele's gaffes and implored him to avoid the media spotlight for the time being. Read More

The Power of the Pu$$Y

Tonight I went to see the Vagina Monologues at my school because my LS had a bit part in it. After hearing some of the experiences that the women interviewed for play I felt bad. I felt bad because there are so many woman who don't know or have never experienced the power of the pu$$y.

I've never really been afraid of mine. I was never the woman to say "I've never looked at my pu$$y", I've been checking it out since high school. Since I went to Catholic School my entire life I was always taught the pu$$y needed to be kept under lock and key until marriage. I did believe that at one time but my pu$$y was a gift that I had no problem sharing with myself.

I can't recall when I started gifting myself, I just remember the practice escalating when I lived in Albany. I felt free there especially when no one was living in the room across the hall. Not only can I gift myself but I could express how happy I was about and no one would know.

That was then and this is now. At almost 30 years old I don't care who knows what I do. Gifting myself has made every experience I've had with a man 1000x better. I know what works and what doesn't. Even though I know what works for me I never reveal for the exploration, anticipation and buildup to what is coming is more exciting than the actual act at times.

I feel sorry for women who never gift themselves and I feel especially sorry for women who have never experienced an orgasm. I've had orgasms before, by myself and with guy but never during sex. I came pretty close with the ex but that was more effort on my part than his. That doesn't bother me should it really matter how you arrive at a destination as long as you get there.

I am always open to sharing my experiences with other females but I suppose I scare other women off my enthusiasm. Instead of being scared I would see it as a motivation but that's just me. Women also bug out when I start talking about porn. Some people like comedies and dramas so do I. But I also enjoy adult film. That should not be embarrassing. If I had a man and the only problem I had is that he liked porn I would find myself to be lucky.

It's ironic that I went to this play today because the last two sex dreams I've had intrigued me. The first one was a while back when I was with the ex. I was enjoying myself with a very tall dark skin man and the ex was watching. The other dream happened recently. An attractive student came by the office and we chatted for a bit and then he left. Later that night I had a dream this student was having a job performed on him. I can tell by the hair that it was a girl but I have no idea who it was. I was fixated on how much he enjoyed the experience. Have I evolved past porn into voyeurism? Maybe one day I will stop writing in this blog and convey these concerns to a professional.

Until then...do not deny the power of the CUNT.



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Listening to: Janet Jackson - Any Time, Any Place
via FoxyTunes

Hey There....Hold Up Wait a Minute

When you care too much,

Hello all,

Now Hey there lonely girl post tonight because there are more pressing matters at hand. I have a friend that is in trouble and I can't get a hold of her. It's very difficult when you care too much. There are days where I wish I was more like some of my sisters. My sisters have this amazing ability to separate situations but some things I cannot.

Another thing that bothers me is up until a few hours ago I was in a pretty good mood but now the worry.

If none of this makes sense to you good then I've done my job. Not everything is meant to be put on the Internet. I can't talk about this situation in depth because the situation is not particular to me. This issue involves other people so out of respect for others privacy I remain cryptic.

I've always wondered what goes through the mind of a selfish person. And I'm not saying I am completely selfless I have my moments but there are some people who act with no regard. I wonder how you come to that decision. Sometimes I wonder why I regard others when I make my decisions.

Blog I better stop writing. My mind is traveling in all sorts of directions and I do have an exam to prepare for and sleep to catch up on.



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Listening to: Phil Collins - Against All Odds
via FoxyTunes

Music I love

As a fan of R&B music I wanted to share some of my obvious favorites with the blogosphere.

Amy Winehouse Frank

My favorite song of the moment of the album Frank. It changes with my mood. If you haven't listened to Frank you are losing in your life.

Eric Roberson Softest Lips

Deborah Bond

Tortured Soul

Dwele Kick Out of You

Hey There Lonely Girl Valentine's Edition

I'm going to keep this short even though I have a lot to write about. Today was a good day. I thought about my Dad. Every year on Valentine's Day he always brought me a silk white rose and a box of chocolate. I won't go into why it was silk but my Dad knew what he was doing. That is just for the next guy to figure out.



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Listening to: P!nk - Don't Let Me Get Me
via FoxyTunes

24: Day 7 - People who need to Die

If you watch 24 you should not take the fact that you need to die personally. Just ask
whats his name.

My man Jack is a results kind of guy. When your a results kind of guy shit occasionally has to happen. Sometimes foreign consulates have to be attacked, witnesses must be shot or even the wives of suspects.

Jack can wrap this day up rather quickly by offing the following interruptions, hindrances etc. to the plan.

Madame President

For the President she sure is way too trusting and is always the last to know. Most importantly she doesn't know about Jack Bauer. When you become president Jack Bauer's resume needs to be in the White House welcome pamphlet. Get it together or Jack shoot her.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Larry Moss

He questioned Jack, his rules and his motives. He is very lucky Jack didn't do him like he had to do Curtiss

FBI Special Agent Renee Walker

You are no Jack Bauer. Your feelings and crap are going to get the best of you and get in the way of what needs to be done.

Now I'm not going to add the villains to this list because we need to give Jack some kind of purpose, but I'm sure as the day goes on this list will grow.

Current Mood: ....

I should say ill because I've been sitting in my bed for the last week because of this damn bronchitis of mine. I've thought about writing but between the coughing and the fever I just didn't have it in me to.

I think since I've had my bloggers turrets that this has probably been the longest period of time that I've gone without writing anything. There is not even a saved draft some where that just needs a few finishing touches before being published.

It's ironic to me that every area of your life never seems to gel exactly when they should be. I am grateful for the small advances that have been made.

SIDE NOTE: I need to get out of this bed and back into the world of the living. I can't believe how much t&a they are showing during primetime. Nor can I believe I am watching it and the fact that I am caught up in the drama that is Dr. 90210

I guess I will pay more attention to the positive in my life. There is way too much crazy going on in the world for me not to. This week I finally put a deposit down to go to Shana's wedding which I am looking forward to. From July 9 - July 13 I will be in DR doing an early 30th b day celebration and I'm going to do it big. I am so happy to go. Not because I will be staying at the five star resort that is Paradisus Palma Real but because Shana is like family. I've known this girl most of my life and now she is getting married. I am so grateful to have this family in my life even though I know her mother is going to drive me nuts. That is Mrs. Ashwood's purpose in life after all.

What do you buy the bride you are spending over a $1,000 dollars to go to their wedding? We shall see and I shall keep you posted.



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Listening to: Slum Village - Reunion (feat. J. Dilla)
via FoxyTunes

Will Obama have to be better because he's black?

(CNN) -- Just days before he was sworn in, President Obama was giving his daughters a tour of the Lincoln Memorial when one of them pointed to a copy of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address carved into the wall.

Obama's 7-year-old daughter, Sasha, told her father that Lincoln's speech was really long. Would he have to give a speech as long? Obama's answer was completed by his older daughter, 10-year-old Malia.

"I said, 'Actually, that one is pretty short. Mine may even be a little longer,' " Obama told CNN recently. "At which point, Malia turns to me and says, 'First African-American president, better be good.' "

The story is light-hearted, but it touches on a delicate question: Will people hold Obama to a different standard because he is the first African-American president?

Americans appear split by race on that answer. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 53 percent of blacks say the American public will hold Obama to a higher standard than past presidents because he is black. Most whites -- 61 percent -- say Obama's race will not matter in how he will be judged.

The question divided several people who were racial pioneers themselves.

Alexander Jefferson was one of the first blacks allowed to become a fighter pilot. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots who escorted bombers in World War II.

"We had to be twice as good to be average," he says.

Obama won't face the same pressures he did because his presidential predecessor was so inept, Jefferson says.

"No, the world is ready for him," he says. "The [George W.] Bush debacle was so depressing."

Jefferson was shot down by ground fire on his 19th mission and spent a year in German prison camps. He wrote about his POW experiences in "Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW."

Jefferson says he dealt with the pressures of being a racial pioneer by drawing on the strength of black leaders who opened doors for him.

"I sit on the backs of everyone who came before me," says Jefferson, who attended Obama's inauguration with other Tuskegee Airmen.

Jefferson says he would have emotionally imploded if he'd thought too much about the pressures of representing all blacks and dealing with the racism he encountered when he returned home to a segregated America after the war.

"I did what I had to do so I didn't go stark-raving mad," he says. "There wasn't all this self-analysis and back and forth. I was too damn busy with a wife, a child and a mortgage."

Michele Andrea Bowen couldn't avoid a bout of constant self-analysis. She was one of the first African-American students admitted to a doctorate program in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"I know Obama is going to be held to a different standard," says Bowen, author of "Up at the College" and books such as "Holy Ghost Corner," which celebrate black faith and culture.

Bowen says she faced relentless scrutiny, and so will Obama.

"You know that it was hard for you to get in it, and you know they're watching you," Bowen says. "And you know that they're judging you by a critical standard that's sometimes not fair."

Bowen says a white classmate, her partner in dissertation, once confided to her that he received the same grades as she did, even though he knew his work was inferior.

"It toughened me up," Bowen says. "It can give you headaches and stomachaches. I learned you have to be thankful that God blessed you with that opportunity. At some point, you stop worrying, and you trust God."

'Would Bush have been president if he were black?'

Perhaps Obama will avoid those stomachaches because of the massive good will his election has generated. But that could change quickly if Obama makes a controversial decision or a mistake, says Andrew Rojecki, co-author of "The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America."

Rojecki says people who say Obama isn't going to be held to a different standard because of his skin color didn't pay attention to his campaign.

He says Obama had to deal with challenges that other candidates didn't have to face. Obama's run for office was almost ended by his association with his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose incendiary sermons shocked many.

But Republican presidential nominee John McCain's relationship with the Rev. John Hagee, who was accused of anti-Semitism, never threatened to end his campaign, Rojecki says.

"Obama was held responsible for what his minister said, and McCain was associated with Hagee, but somehow that didn't stick," says Rojecki, a communication professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Even people who regard themselves as the most progressive, open-minded supporters may subconsciously hold Obama to a different standard, Rojecki says.

He says several academic studies show that it often takes people longer to associate good qualities to blacks when different faces are flashed across a screen.

"They have these stereotypes buried in their subconscious," he says. "That's why people cross the street when they see a young black man. They'd rather not take a chance."

Obama virtually had to be perfect to overcome those stereotypes, Rojecki says. He was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, he has an Ivy League-educated wife and adorable daughters, and he ran a great campaign.

"He's the perfect symbol of achievement," Rojecki says.

White candidates for office don't have to have an uninterrupted life of achievement to be considered for the Oval Office, Rojecki says.

"If George W. Bush were black, do you think he would be president?" Rojecki says.

Jefferson, the Tuskegee Airman, says Obama should have at least one consolation. The problems he confronts now are so immense that anyone, even someone who was considered by many to be perfect, would not be able to escape withering judgment.

"If the president was Jesus Christ, '' Jefferson says, "they would still debate if he's qualified."
SOURCE

Hey There Lonely Girl

I'm home tonight and it's by choice so I will keep this brief. I am supposed to be at the Tortured Soul show but stayed home because of work in the morning.

I'm sure I will get to see them the next time they are in town.


EDIT: Just found out Tortured Soul goes on at 1:30. Yeah glad I stayed home.



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Listening to: Tortured Soul - Love Everlasting
via FoxyTunes

The 44th President of the United States

Today I stood in the hallway of my office and witnessed something I never thought I would see. Today like every major event in my life was bittersweet. As elated as I am by this change in America I miss my father and so many others terribly. There is so much I'm feeling right now and maybe I will write more later. Now I pray for our president and his family.

The Speech

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, 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 forbearers, 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, and 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.

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. 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 who 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. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the 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 will 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. And 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 - and that a 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 our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our Founding 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. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all 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 that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with 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 will 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. 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. 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. 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 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 road 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 today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are 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 - hard work and honesty, 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 sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. 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 a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words 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.