our moment is now

an excerpt from Barack Obama's speech on 01/09/08 in nashua, NH:

we know the battle ahead will be long,
but always remember that
no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
nothing can withstand
the power of millions of voices calling for change.

In the unlikely story that is America, there has
never been anything false about hope.
For when we have faced down impossible odds;
when we've been told that we're not ready,
or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't,
generations of Americans have responded with
a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that
declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists
as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants
as they struck out from distant shores and
pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized;
women who reached for the ballot;
a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and
a King who took us to the mountaintop
and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.

And so tomorrow...we will remember that
there is something happening in America; that

we are not as divided as our politics suggest.

that we are
one people; we are
one nation.

and together, we will begin
the next great chapter in America's story
with three words that will ring from coast to coast;
from sea to shining sea:

Yes. We. Can.


[watch the music video] [read the LA times]


[photo from threecee]