what Democrat means to me
Today I want to speak to you about a word that means a great deal to me — Democrat. Now, I know that word carries many meanings for many people, and in a country as vast and varied as ours, it should. We come from different backgrounds, from different towns and cities, from different walks of life — and so it is only natural that we bring different understandings to the table. That is the beauty of democracy.
I am a Democrat. But let me tell you what that means to me.
If by Democrat, you mean one who seeks to tear down the pillars of liberty, who disrespects the traditions that made this country great, who marches blindly into ideologies that have no place in our republic — then I am not that kind of Democrat.
But if by Democrat, you mean a citizen who believes in the common good — who looks to the future with courage, who honors the past with wisdom, who understands that America must be a home for the young, the old, the working man and woman, the dreamer and the doer alike — then that, my friends, is the Democrat I am proud to be.
You see, I believe in a future inspired by the best of our past — a retro-future, if you will. A future that remembers where we came from, so that we may walk with clarity into where we are going. For while we must never repeat the errors of our history, we must also never forget its triumphs. To pretend we have done no wrong is folly — but to deny that we have done great good is a grave disservice to the spirit of our people.
We must, in this hour, take the finest values of our past — duty, dignity, unity — and fuse them with the promise of the years ahead: progress, innovation, and inclusion. Only then can we build a tomorrow worthy of our children.
To me, being a Democrat means believing in liberty — not just as an ideal, but as a living, breathing principle that applies to everyone on this train we call America. And let me be clear: you need not wear the label "Democrat" to believe in democratic ideals. A conservative may love liberty just as fiercely as a liberal. And in that truth, we are united.
So let us cast aside the false divides and remember this: We are Americans first. And whether we call ourselves Democrats, Republicans, or something else entirely, we all share the sacred duty to move our nation forward — not backward — forward toward a more just, more free, and more united future.
Thank you — and may God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
