Clinton Hillary Rodham - Stronger together: a blueprint for Americas future

On the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio, July 31, 2016.

IT HAS BEEN SAID that America is great because America is good.

We agree.

Two hundred and forty years ago, representatives of thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia. We all know the story, but we usually focus our attention on how it turned outthe bold Declaration of Independence, the long war, the drafting of a Constitution that would never have been possible without both painful compromise and an understanding that there would be room for improvement and changes in the future, all of which gave rise to an experiment in self-government that today shines as a beacon of hope for people around the world. We spend less time considering how close we came to never seeing the American story written at all.

From New Hampshire to Georgia, each of the thirteen original colonies had its own customs, its own laws. When they met in Philadelphia, some wanted to stick with the kingand some wanted to stick it to the king.

The revolutionand everything that would followhung in the balance. The delegates, many of whom were strangers to each other, some of whom nursed long-held grudges, somehow began to listen to each other, to compromise, to find common purpose.

And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had planted the seed that would grow into a mighty nation. They began to see themselves as one peoplestronger together.

America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as at our founding, there are no guarantees. The future is ours to choose. We have to decide whether we will once again come together and work together so we can all rise together. We have to decide whether we still believe in our nations motto: E pluribus unum. Out of many, we are one.

Make no mistakewe face our fair share of threats and challenges, and we need to be clear-eyed about them. Our economy is not working the way it should for too many Americans. A lot of people feel there is less and less respect for the work they doand less respect for them, period.

Our nation is suffering through a quiet epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction. Income and wealth inequality have reached levels not seen since the Roaring Twenties. Children born into the lowest-income families too often stay stuck there as adults, with no chance to fulfill their talents and ambitions.

Our politics have become paralyzed and sometimes poisonous. Instead of protecting Americans fundamental right to vote, the Supreme Court has protected corporations right to buy elections. Too many politicians in Washington and in statehouses are more beholden to special interests than they are to the best interests of their constituents.

Our communities have seen horrific mass shootings. We and our allies have come under attack by terrorists. And our long, difficult struggle with racism is still ongoing, with race too often playing a role in who gets ahead and who gets left behind.

But consider the strengths we bring as Americans to meet these challenges. We have the most dynamic and diverse people in the world. We have the most tolerant and generous young people weve ever had. We have the most powerful military and the most innovative entrepreneurs. We have the most enduring valuesfreedom and equality, justice and opportunity. We should be proud that those words are associated with the United States of America.

Troops on the front lines. Police officers and firefighters who run toward danger. Doctors and nurses who care for us. Teachers who change lives. Entrepreneurs who see possibilities in every problem. Mothers who lost children to violence and are building a movement to keep other kids safe...

Americans dont say: I alone can fix it. We say: Well fix it together.

Hillary, July 28, 2016

Love and Kindnessand Action

Hillary Clinton

My grandfather worked in the same Scranton lace mill for fifty years, because he believed that if he gave everything he had, his children would have a better life than he did. And he was right.

My dad, Hugh, made it to college. He played football at Penn State and enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. When the war was over he started his own small business, printing fabric for draperies. I remember watching him stand for hours over silk screens. He wanted to give my brothers and me opportunities he never had, and he did.