Full Transcript: President Obama gives speech addressing Europe, Russia on March 26

[struggle4progress]

... Today what would have seemed impossible in the trenches of Flanders, the rubble of Berlin, a dissident’s prison cell -- that reality is taken for granted: a Germany unified, the nations of Central and Eastern Europe welcomed into the family of democracies ...

And this story of human progress was by no means limited to Europe ... After the second world war people from Africa to India threw off the yoke of colonialism to secure their independence. In the United States citizens took Freedom Rides and endured beatings to put an end to segregation and to secure their civil rights. As the Iron Curtain fell here in Europe, the iron fist of apartheid was unclenched and Nelson Mandela emerged upright, proud, from prison to lead a multiracial democracy; Latin American nations rejected dictatorship and built new democracies; and Asian nations showed that development and democracy could go hand in hand ...

So I come here today to insist that we must never take for granted the progress that has been won here in Europe and advanced around the world ...

... Russia has pointed to America’s decision to go into Iraq as an example of Western hypocrisy. Now, it is true that the Iraq war was a subject of vigorous debate, not just around the world but in the United States, as well. I participated in that debate, and I opposed our military intervention there.

But even in Iraq, America sought to work within the international system. We did not claim or annex Iraq’s territory. We did not grab its resources for our own gain. Instead, we ended our war and left Iraq to its people in a fully sovereign Iraqi state that can make decisions about its own future.

Of course, neither the United States nor Europe are perfect in adherence to our ideals. Nor do we claim to be the sole arbiter of what is right or wrong in the world ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/transcript-president-obama-gives-speech-addressing-europe-russia-on-march-26/2014/03/26/07ae80ae-b503-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html

[global1]

1. This Was Truly A Brilliant Speech But Here's A Few Excerpts I Took Out Of It.....

and kind of found as sad and fruitless in light of how the Repubs are treating this President and how they are taking our country down.

- and they wrote them into the founding documents that still guide America today, including the simple truth that all men, and women, are created equal.

Really? That's what is written in our founding documents - but do the Repubs really believe that - given the treatment that the Repubs are giving the President, women, immigrants, gays and the poor.

- And across the Atlantic, we embraced a shared vision of Europe, a vision based on representative democracy, individual rights, and a belief that nations can meet the interests of their citizens through trade and open markets, a social safety net, respect for those of different faiths and backgrounds.


Really? .....through trade and open markets, a social safety net, and respect for those of different faiths and backgrounds.

Banksters and open markets - sure!!!! A social safety net - isn't it the Repubs that want to do away with Social Security and Medicare, food stamps, unemployment insurance and affordable health care?


- we believe in democracy, with elections that are free and fair, and independent judiciaries and opposition parties, civil society and uncensored information so that individuals can make their own choices. Yes, we believe in open economies based on free markets and innovation and individual initiative and entrepreneurship and trade and investment that creates a broader prosperity.

Really? ....elections that are free and fair. How about the voter suppression that's going on in this country? How about the buying of elections by the corporations and the rich (Kochs maybe). .....independent judiciaries. How about the stacking of the courts? How about the Repubs not passing on the President's recommendations for the judiciary? Why did the Senate have to modify the filibuster rule for the judiciary? ....opposition parties. You mean the TeaParty? ....civil society. I look to the irrational gun and stand your ground laws and lobbies. You call that civil? ...uncensored information so that individuals can make their own choices. Really? How about the lack of journalistic integrity? What about Fox? What about right wing radio? Rush, Hannity, Drudge? .....we believe in open economies based on free markets. Really - as long as they are manipulated by Wall Street, the rich and the corporations (that incidentally - are people). .....individual initiative, entrepreneurship, trade and investment that creates a broader prosperity. Sure - but only for the wealthy. The middle class is dwindling and losing ground to the point that individual initiative and entrepreneurship is getting harder and harder to accomplish.

-In the end, the success of our ideals comes down to us, including the example of our own lives, our own societies. We know that there will always be intolerance, but instead of fearing the immigrant, we can welcome him. We can insist on policies that benefit the many, not just the few, that an age of globalization and dizzying change opens the door of opportunity to the marginalized, and not just a privileged few.

Really? ...instead of fearing the immigrant, we can welcome him. Yeah - to fences, border patrol, and lack of any real and working immigration legislation. .... we can insist on policies that benefit the many, not just the few. Really? when the policies we insist on that could benefit the many - the Repubs sandbag and stonewall - just TO benefit the few. ....that an age of globalization and dizzying change opens the door of opportunity to the marginalized, and not just a privileged few. Really? seems to me that the door is closing on the marginalized to benefit only the privileged few.

- Instead of targeting our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, we can use our laws to protect their rights. Instead of defining ourselves in opposition to others, we can affirm the aspirations that we hold in common. That’s what will make America strong.


Really? ....instead of targeting our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, we can use our laws to protect their rights. Well - yes we are making some strides here - but any chance the Repubs get to throw roadblocks in the way - they jump at the chance. We should be well beyond this and have equal protection of gay and lesbian rights - but the Repubs won't have it. I don't think that makes America strong IMHO.

- And yes, we believe in human dignity, that every person is created equal -- no matter who you are or what you look like or who you love or where you come from. That is what we believe. That’s what makes us strong.

Really? Sure - that is what a lot of us believe and that could really make us strong - but again - given the treatment that this first Black President is getting - what was he called recently by a former BushCo insider - what's that - an ape? And they are referring to the President - imagine what they think of the rank and file American that doesn't look like them? It's kind of like as long as you are rich, white and come from the privileged class - that's the human dignity that the Repubs believe in.

Honestly - I genuinely believe that the President's speech today was brilliant. One of his best in a whole line of best speeches. But I had to cull out those passages above and point out just how much work we need to do in this country to live up to those lines in this speech.

It just drives home to me how important this midterm election is that is coming up in Nov 2014. We need to take back full control over this country. We need to maintain and grow our majority in the Senate and we need to win the House. We need to motivate the Dem base and push the turnout to historic proportions and send a message to the Repubs that - we want to live up to the ideals that were presented in this speech and those tenets of what this country is founded on.

[struggle4progress]

2. Let America Be America Again

... O, let America be America again —
The land that never has been yet —
And yet must be ...

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath —
America will be! ...

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609

[treestar]

9. Great poem

IT's an ideal, and pretty much closer than most other countries.

[freshwest]

6. I don't find that back and forth encouraging. n/t

[sheshe2]

3. Thank you for posting this.

I worked today and missed it, struggle4progress.

"We’ve never met these people, but we know them. Their voices echo calls for human dignity that rang out in European streets and squares for generations. Their voices echo those around the world who at this very moment fight for their dignity. These Ukrainians rejected a government that was stealing from the people instead of serving them, and are reaching for the same ideals that allow us to be here today."

[struggle4progress]

4. Some of our very dear friends over in GD are busily slicing and dicing this to cook up

another ODS flambé

Yesterday's speech: OMG! WWI! WTF Obama!
Today's speech: OMG! Iraq! WTF Obama!

I suppose eventually we must hear how Obama has completely failed to understand the Schmalkaldic War

[sheshe2]

5. Yup, been in GD~

They are not only holding his feet to the fire, they are ready to set him on fire.

Flambé~

[freshwest]

7. Well, that happens in all of these threads. It's the norm. No deed or speech left unmocked, none.

The cognitive dissonance of saying one supports changes for the better, while denigrating all that has been done or could be accomplished, is the exact same message crafted to decieve.

[treestar]

11. Yes, it is come to think of it

They are not for progress is it is not enough. Yet progress itself it merely movement forward. By it's very nature it means step by step. Which is just the way life is.

[IrishAyes]

13. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

or something like that.

[treestar]

10. Busy "I am going to throw up"

hang onto anything they can possibly hang onto to support their already made up minds.

That one was major fail, as they simply failed to consider the context. How right wing of them.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. I was pleased to see that the president got such a warm reception

I thought it was a brave and honest speech.

[IrishAyes]

14. As always.

[tech-head]

12. my plea

i don't often get involved in politics, mostly because i hold no faith in "our" party system. on the rare occasion that i do get involved, it's often because someone said something profound, and was misquoted by their opposition. in this case, i would like to start by saying i'm not the biggest fan of Obama, or what he's done since gaining office. although i was optimistic about his policies. i have to say, most of the fault is not his, but should reside with congress, most of his best ideas were torn to shreds at the whim of the few.
that being said, i am, at heart, an anarchist. i had no true definition for that term until i came across the scene from sons of anarchy, where jax finds these words written on the wall under the bridge.
"Anarchism... stands for liberation of the human mind and the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from shackles and restraint of government. It stands for social order based on the free grouping of individuals."
i've found that this fits so perfectly with my own beliefs, it speaks volumes about the kind of man i am, and want to be.
but back to my original point, many of you must have seen the facebook posts denouncing obama for his speech on march 26th. in every facebook post and most news posts ive seen so far he has been misquoted and therefore vilified for his statements made in defense of our way of life. as someone who so long ago lost all faith in humanity, i'm surprised to say i am actually sickened by this behavior. having read the full transcript, i can say that, although he may not be the "best" president we've ever had, he gets the point. whether we exercise our rights or not is beside the point. according to our constitution, we are a free people, we have rights and the right to defend those rights. along with that comes an obligation to defend those same rights on behalf of any other sentient being, no matter what nation they were born in, or what flag they uphold.
most of the world sees us as a nation of idiots and meddlers. constantly interfering in the affairs of others and doing an altogether bad job of it to boot. at this point i cant argue. we have strayed so far from that original goal, that pursuit of happiness, that it is no longer clear where we stand. how free are we these days? how much say do we, as individuals, have in our lives? how much influence do we have in the actions of our nation?
although i may not agree with every word the man says, i have to say that Obama seems to genuinely believe in the fight for freedom. you cannot speak in such a way, to what is essentially the entirety of the free world, without a certain sense of conviction. i believe the man has done the best he could under the circumstances. hampered in every respect by an outdated and entirely too powerful group of the privileged, congress, and to a lesser extent the house of representatives.
i encourage everyone to read obama's speech, think about the countless men and women who have fought for freedom and equal rights, remember the sacrifice of the relative few for the sake of the many. think about how your life today might look if we had never shaken the yoke of tyranny. think of how many lives and nations across the world we've influenced, hopefully for the better. my point is, we could be better, we could do more, for ourselves, and for the world as a whole. we need to band together, as a people,as a movement. we need to shake the powers that be to their foundations and make ourselves be heard. why, in this day and age, in this great melting pot of race and creed, can we not come together in peace, for the benefit of all? why can't we help each other, out of goodwill, instead of a desire for profit?
i'm not talking about communism. simply common sense. i don't think a man should have to work to support everyone else, i just think that every man that enjoys the rights of a free society should feel obligated to uphold those rights for others.
i know that countless others over the years have asked, "why can't we all just get along?" well? why not? it not like we're not all fighting for the same things. better health care, better wages, privacy, safety, an so on. these same necessities are fought for everywhere, everyday. why not stand together, why not be heard as one voice, one unstoppable force made up up of the majority of the human race. if all those who by themselves posses no apparent power stood together, under a common goal, oh what power we would have.