Joe Biden defined what it means to be an American, for generations to come
Last edited Thu Jan 6, 2022, 10:29 PM - Edit history (2)
...his Jan. 6 remembrance speech, a bookend to John F. Kennedy's American University Address in 1963.
President Biden laid down a distinct and unmistakable marker at the feet of those who attacked our democracy that day, and are still working to undermine our political process.
He challenged all of us to decide which side we are on. Not what political party we support, but whether we're either going to stand on the side of democracy and the rule of law, or if we're going to fall in with those who would dismantle and destroy it.
He made clear in his unwavering, forceful address that the over 150 million Americans who voted in that election were the 'patriots' in this nation who represent the nation - not the insurrectionists, and not those who, months later, sought to violently reject the votes cast that day.
Pres. Biden expressed this choice in terms which will resonate far into our political future, and define those who would block or deny legitimate votes cast in our elections, or seek to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in our nation as illegitimate and abhorrent to everything our democracy is supposed to represent and provide for us.
President Biden:
...at this moment, we must decide: What kind of nation are we going to be?
Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?
Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?
Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?
We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.
The Big Lie being told by the former president and many Republicans who fear his wrath is that the insurrection in this country actually took place on Election Day — November 3rd, 2020.
Think about that. Is that what you thought? Is that what you thought when you voted that day? Taking part in an insurrection? Is that what you thought you were doing? Or did you think you were carrying out your highest duty as a citizen and voting?
The former president and his supporters are trying to rewrite history. They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6th as the true expression of the will of the people.
Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country — to look at America? I cannot.
Here’s the truth: The election of 2020 was the greatest demonstration of democracy in the history of this country.
More of you voted in that election than have ever voted in all of American history. Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day in a pandemic — some at great- — great risk to their lives. They should be applauded, not attacked.
Just as John Kennedy reminded Americans in 1963 of our government's responsibility to "provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within our authority," the way we expect other nations to treat their own countryfolk, President Biden reminded that the way we conduct our elections defines our nation to the rest of the world...
From China to Russia and beyond, they’re betting that democracy’s days are numbered. They’ve actually told me democracy is too slow, too bogged down by division to succeed in today’s rapidly changing, complicated world.
And they’re betting — they’re betting America will become more like them and less like us. They’re betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman.
I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be.
Our Founding Fathers, as imperfect as they were, set in motion an experiment that changed the world — literally changed the world.
Here in America, the people would rule, power would be transferred peacefully — never at the tip of a spear or the barrel of a gun.
With his speech at the Capitol, the President made clear that those who love and value our democracy adhere to the rule of law, and protect and defend our process of elections - and those who are determined to unravel our votes, denying our citizens' most vital contributions to our more perfect union, are a grave threat to those ideals which buttress our system of government.
History will remember that this president determinedly led the nation to the defense of our own democratic volition today, in the face of those in the country (and without) who dare threaten the national unity expressed in our votes which are intended to ensure the peaceful transfer of presidential authority.
watch the full speech:
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