How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution—a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. (6)
The U.S. Constitution was formed on the very foundation of equality—that concept led to a declaration of war and a declaration of independence. We fought a king and the world's most powerful army to get our freedom so we could be equal. Then, a century later, we fought each other for the same reason. It's been proven that violence is not necessarily the answer.
However, it's also been proven that our journey to true equality isn't finished, and it will continue to be a work in progress. There's nothing wrong with that so long as we commit to seeing it through, to working together until we really have achieved true equality.
Quote #2
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign—to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. (9)
What made Reverend Wright's comments so terribly wrong was the implication that we're starting from scratch when it comes to fighting for equality, and that's just not true. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela—great men from all over the world have been fighting against injustice for decades, and while it hasn't been easy, they don't deserve to have their achievements forgotten because it makes for better controversy.
In his speech, Obama reminds us that we aren't starting from the beginning because great people have made intense sacrifices to set us on the path toward a more free, more prosperous country. We just have to carry the baton now.
Quote #3
But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts—that out of many, we are truly one. (19)
We the people. We. The people. It hasn't ever been about a single person doing all the work, or a single group of people making decisions—that wasn't the plan. From the get-go, our Founding Fathers wanted to create a government where all people had the same voice, the same power to make change. Obviously, we have had to make adjustments along the way, but this perfection we're after has always been part of us. We just have to take the opportunity to find it and preserve it.