I enjoy hearing political speeches, unless they are delivered by a Bush or Trump, in which case I can't bear to listen. But, I get more out of the transcripts. Somewhere in my hoards of old printouts or collection of old computers, I probably still have worn transcripts of every speech Al Gore made - because, like with Pat Conroy's writing, there's too much to grasp from each sentence the first time through.
I am posting the transcript of President Biden's Philadelphia speech on September 1, 2022 with highlights to show how I hear and read important speeches. This might be the most important one I
remember in my lifetime although I have listened to speeches from President Kennedy until the present.
There is no legend to identify the colors, fonts, lines . . . maybe you'll figure it out.
Contrary to what some have said, there are great verbs in here.
President Biden delivered remarks in Philadelphia on
Thursday [Sept 1, 2022] about what he described as ongoing threats to democracy
in the United States. The following is a transcript of his remarks, as recorded
by The New York Times.
My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it.
I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, Pa.
This is where America made its declaration of independence to the world more
than two centuries ago, with an idea unique among nations: that in America,
we’re all created equal.
This
is where the
United States
Constitution was written and debated. This is where we set in motion the
most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known.
With three simple words: we, the people; we, the people. These two documents
and their ideas they embody — equality
and democracy — are the rock upon which this nation is built.
They are how we became the greatest nation on earth. They
are why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world.
But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.
So, tonight, I’ve come to this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about
the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to
meet these threats
and about the incredible future that lies in front of us, if only we
choose it.
We
must never forget, we, the people, are the true heirs of the American
experiment that began more than two centuries ago.
We, the people, have
burning inside of each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at
Independence Hall. A flame that lit our way through abolition, the Civil War,
suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars, civil rights. That sacred flame
still burns. Now on our time as we build an
America that is more prosperous, free, and just. That is the work of my
presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole soul.
But first, we must be honest with each other and
with ourselves.
Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and
the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.
Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front.
Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA
Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know,
because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.
But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.
These are hard things, but I’m an
American president, not a president of red America or blue America, but of all
America. And I believe it’s my duty, my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how
difficult, no matter how painful.
And here, in my view, is what is
true: MAGA Republicans do
not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do
not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a
free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to
give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering
election deniers to undermine democracy itself.
MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to
privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They
promote authoritarian leaders, and they fanned the flames of political violence
that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the
rule of law, to the very soul of this country.
They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol
on Jan. 6, brutally attacking law enforcement, not as insurrectionists who
placed a dagger at the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as
patriots. And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power
after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81
million people. This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will
of the people. That’s why respected conservatives like Federal Circuit Court
Judge Michael Luttig has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans “a clear
and present danger” to our democracy.
But while the threat to American democracy is real,
I want to say as clearly as we can, we are not powerless in the face of these
threats. We are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy. There are
far more Americans, far more Americans from every background and belief, who
reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that accept it. And folks, it’s within our power, it’s in our
hands, yours and mine, to stop the assault on American democracy.
I believe America is
at an inflection point, one of those moments that determine the shape of
everything that’s to come after. And now, America must choose to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future or
obsess about the past, to be a nation of hope and unity and optimism or a
nation of fear, division and of darkness.
MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace
anger. They thrive on chaos. They live, not in the light of truth but in the
shadow of lies. But together, together, we can choose a different path. We can
choose a better path forward to the future, a future of possibility, a future
to build a dream and hope, and we’re on that path moving ahead.
I know this nation. I
know you, the American people. I know your courage, I know your hearts, and I
know our history. This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not
reject it. This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not
repudiate it. This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor
the will of the people. We do not deny it. And this is a nation that rejects
violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence. We are still an
America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others.
Patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities — we are still at our core a democracy.
And
yet, history
tells us that
blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political
violence is fatal to democracy.
For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American
democracy is guaranteed, but it’s not. We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it, each and every one of us. That’s why
tonight, I’m asking our nation to come together, unite
behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your
ideology.
We’re all called by duty
and conscience to confront extremists who put their own pursuit of power
above all else. Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans, we must be stronger, more determined and more
committed to saving American democracy. And MAGA Republicans are destroying
American democracy.
We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart.
Today, there are dangers around us we
cannot allow to prevail. We hear —
you’ve heard it, more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political
tool in this country. It’s not. It can never be an acceptable tool. So, I want
to say this plain and simple: There
is no place for political violence in America, period, none, ever.
You saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the
6th. We’ve seen election officials, poll workers, many of them volunteers of
both parties, subject to intimidation and death threats. And, can you believe
it, F.B.I. agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own
lives from their own fellow citizens.
On top of that, there are public figures today, yesterday and the day before
predicting and all but calling
for mass violence and rioting in the streets. This is inflammatory. It’s
dangerous. It’s against the rule of law. And we, the people, must say this is
not who we are.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-insurrectionist and
pro-American. They’re incompatible. We can’t
allow violence to be normalized in this country. It’s wrong. We each have
to reject political violence with all the moral clarity and conviction this
nation can muster now.
We
can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to
chaos. Look, I know politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America. I get
it. I believe in the give and take of politics, in disagreement and debate and
dissent. We’re a big complicated country, but
democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the
guardrails of the Republic. Only if, we the people accept the results of
free and fair elections. Only if, we the people see politics, not as total war,
but mediation of our differences. Democracy cannot survive on one side believes
there are only two outcomes to an election: Either they win or they were
cheated. And that’s where the MAGA Republicans are today.
They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows.
You can’t love your country only when you win. It’s fundamental.
American
democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the
institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me. Only if we
respect our legitimate political differences.
I will not stand by and watch — I will not — the will of
the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless
evidence-free claims of fraud. I will not stand by and watch elections in this
country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost. I will not
stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country, the freedom to
vote and have your vote counted, and be taken from you and the American people.
Look, as your president, I will defend our democracy
with every fiber of my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.
Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest
progress coming out of some of our darkest moments like you’re hearing in that
bullhorn. I believe we can and must do that again, and we are.
MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and
darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies. Lies told for profit and
power.
But
I see a different America — an America with an unlimited future, an America
that’s about to take off. I hope you see it as well. Just look around. I
believe we could lift America from the depths of Covid, so we passed the
largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and today
America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the
world. We have more to go. I believe we can build a better America, so we
passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, and we’ve now embarked on a decade of rebuilding the nation’s
roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed internet, railroads.
I
believe we can make America safer, so we passed
the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton.
I believe we could go
from being the highest cost of prescriptions to the world to making
prescription drugs and health care more affordable, so we passed the most
significant health care reform since President Obama signed the Affordable Care
Act.
And I believed we could create a clean energy future and
save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever,
ever.
The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done,
but they’re wrong.
There is not a single thing America cannot do, not a single
thing beyond our capacity if we do it together. It’s never easy. But we’re
proving that America, no matter how long the road, progress does come.
Look, I know the last year, few years have been tough, but
today Covid no longer controls our lives. More Americans are working than ever.
Businesses are growing, our schools are open, millions of Americans have been
lifted out of poverty. Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic burn pits
will now get what they deserve for their families in compensation. American
manufacturing has come alive across the heartland, and the future will be made
in America, no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say.
I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is
paying off, proving that from darkness, the darkness of Charlottesville, of
Covid, of gun violence, of insurrection, we can see the light. Light is now
visible. Light that will guide us forward. Not only in words but in actions.
Actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.
Even
in this moment with all the challenges we face, I give you my word as a Biden,
I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future. Not because of me, but
because of who you are.
We’re
going to end cancer as we know it, mark my words. We’re going to create
millions of new jobs and a clean energy economy. We’re going to think big.
We’re going to make the 21st century another American century because the world
needs us to. That’s where we need to focus our energy. Not in the past, not on
divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future we can
build together.
The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to
succeed, everyone else has to fail. They believe America, not like
what I believe about America. I believe America is big enough for all of us to
succeed, and that is the nation we’re building, a nation where no one is left
behind.
I ran for president because I believed we were in a battle
of the soul of this nation. I still believe that to be true. I believe the soul
is the breadth, the life and the essence of who we are. The soul is what makes us, us.
The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition
that all are created equal in the image of God, that all are entitled to be
treated with decency, dignity and respect, that all deserve justice and a shot
at lives of prosperity and consequence. And that democracy, democracy must be
defended, for democracy makes all these things possible.
Folks, and it’s up to us. Democracy begins and will be
preserved, and we the people’s habits of the heart — in our character, optimism
that is tested, yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it. Empathy
that fuels democracy. The willingness to see each other not as enemies but as
fellow Americans.
Look, our democracy isn’t perfect. It always has been.
Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there. They’re entitled
to be outrageous. This is a democracy. But history and common sense — good
manners is nothing they have ever suffered from — but history and common sense
tell us that opportunity, liberty and justice for all are most likely to come
to pass in a democracy. We
have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every generation
has opened those doors a little bit wider to include more people who have been
excluded before.
My
fellow Americans, America is an idea; the most powerful idea in the history of
the world, and it beats in the hearts of the people of this country. It beats
in all our hearts. It unites America. It is the American creed.
The
idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity. It gives
hate no safe harbor. It installs in everyone the belief that no matter where
you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve. That’s who we are. That’s
what we stand for. That’s what we believe.
And that’s precisely what we’re doing — opening doors,
creating possibilities, focusing on the future — and we’re only just beginning.
Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble
and whole, and this work is the work of democracy, the work of this generation.
It is the work of our time for all time. We can’t afford to leave anyone on the
sidelines. We need everyone to do their part, so speak up, speak out, get
engaged, vote, vote, vote!
And if we do our duty, if we do our duty, in 2022 and
beyond, then ages still to come will say we, all of us here, we kept the faith.
We preserved democracy. We heeded our words. We heeded not our worst instincts
but our better angels. We proved that for all its imperfections, America is
still the beacon to the world, an ideal to be realized, a promise to be kept.
There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred. Nothing more American.
That’s our soul. That’s who we truly are. And that’s who we must always be.
I have no doubt, none, that this is who we will be and that
we’ll come together as a nation that will secure our democracy. That for the
next 200 years we’ll have what we had the past 200 years, the greatest nation
on the face of the earth. We just need to remember who we are. We are the
United States of America, the United States of America. And may God protect our
nation, and may God protect all those who stand watch over our democracy.
God bless you all. Democracy. Thank you.
