We are a people in a quandary
about the present.
We are a people in
search of our future.
We are a people in search
of a national community.
We are a people trying not only
to solve the problems of the present —
unemployment, inflation —
but we are attempting
on a larger scale
to fulfill the promise of America.
We are attempting to
fulfill our national purpose —
to create and sustain a society
in which all of us are equal.
[Applause]
A spirit of harmony
will survive in America
only if each of us remembers
that we share a common destiny.
If each of us remembers,
when self-interest and
bitterness seem to prevail,
that we share a common destiny.
And I ask you that as you listen
to these words of Abraham Lincoln,
relate them to the concept
of a national community.
“As I would not be a slave,
so I would not be a master.
This expresses my idea of Democracy.
Whatever differs from this,
to the extent of the difference,
is no Democracy."
Thank you.
[Applause]
