What we are lacking now is the political willpower.
WE need your help, by the millions, to tell congress to stop worrying about their fossil fuel contributors to their campaigns and worry about their kids and grandchildren.
I would hope that all of you are prepared to think big, not small" Understand, you are living in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and when we stand together, when we do not allow demagogues to divide us up as to whether we are white or black or hispanic, whether we are, born in this country or born abroad, whether we are straight or gay, men or women, when we stand together we can accomplish extraordinary things.
Don't tell me that in the United States of America, at a time when we are seeing a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires, don't tell me that we have to have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on earth. Don't tell me that.
Please do not tell me" that we have to be the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people as a right.
When every psychologist in the world tells us that the most important years of human development are zero to four, don't tell me that we can't have the best child care pre-K system in the world rather than the dysfunctional one we have today. We can do that.
Don't tell me we cannot expand social security and provide a decent retirement for all of our people.
Don't tell me we can't provide for all of our veterans.
I ask you as young people to stand up and be leaders in this country. I ask you to create a nation where every person, no matter their race, their religion, their disability or their sexual orientation realizes the full promise of equality that is our birthright as Americans.
There is nothing that I am telling you today that is pie in the sky, that is utopian. We can accomplish all of that and more. But we will not accomplish that if 80% of young people don't vote, we will not accomplish that if 63% of people don't vote.
Now the truth is that the billionaire class, in corporate America and Wall street and the corporate media have enormous power" they are very powerful people. They've controlled this country for a very long time. But at the end of the day, while they have the money and power, we have something they do not have. And that is, we have the people and people stand together, we can win.
Thank you very much.
A huge line of students lines up to ask questions-- about 50
Student asks about Political literature that influenced his political philosophy that he's read
"I've read a lot. The people who motivated me the most are those people who had the courage to stand up for the least among us and those people who had the courage to take on very powerful forces, whether they were economic forces or racist forces-- a broad spectrum of books dealing with social justice."
Student asks about Koch brothers
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