February 2016 Union FROM PAGE 6


ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead — they call us. (Applause.)


I mean, it’s useful to level the set here, because when we don’t, we don’t make good decisions.


day with an intelligence briefing, I know this is a dangerous time.


Now, as someone who begins every But that’s not primarily


because of some looming superpower out there, and certainly not because of diminished American strength.


In today’s world, we’re


threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states.


The Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. Economic headwinds are blowing in from a Chinese economy that is in significant transition. Even as their economy severely contracts, Russia is pouring resources in to prop up Ukraine and Syria — client states that they saw slipping away from their orbit. And the international system we built after World War II is now struggling to keep pace with this new reality.


It’s up to us, the United States of America, to help remake that system. And to do that well it means that we’ve got to set priorities.


Priority number one is protecting the


American people and going after terrorist networks. (Applause.) Both al Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct threat to our people, because in today’s world, even a handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a lot of damage. They use the Internet to poison the minds of individuals inside our country.


Their actions undermine


and destabilize our allies. We have to take them out.


But as we focus on destroying ISIL,


over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play into their hands. Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks, twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages — they pose an enormous danger to civilians; they have to be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence.


(Applause.) story ISIL wants to tell. That’s the kind of


propaganda they use to recruit. We don’t need to build them up to show that we’re serious, and we sure don’t need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is somehow representative of one of the world’s largest religions. (Applause.) We just need to call them what they are — killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed. (Applause.)


And that’s exactly what we’re doing. For


more than a year, America has led a coalition of more than 60 countries to cut off ISIL’s financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of terrorist fighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. With nearly 10,000 air strikes, we’re taking


out their leadership, their oil, their


training camps, their weapons. We’re training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in Iraq and Syria.


If this Congress is serious about winning


this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, authorize the use of military


force against ISIL. (Applause.) Take a vote. Take a vote. But the American


people should know that with or without congressional action, ISIL will learn the same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt America’s commitment — or mine — to see that justice is done, just ask Osama bin Laden. (Applause.)


Ask the leader of al Qaeda in


Yemen, who was taken out last year, or the perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell. When you come after Americans, we go after you. (Applause.) And it may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limits. (Applause.)


Our foreign policy hast to be focused


on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda, but it can’t stop there. For even without ISIL, even without al Qaeda, instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world — in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, in parts of Central America, in Africa, and Asia. Some of these places may become safe havens for new terrorist networks. Others will just fall victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. The world will look to us to help solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet-bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the


world stage. We also can’t


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com faith. try to take over and


rebuild every country that falls into crisis, even if it’s done with the best of intentions. (Applause.)


That’s not leadership; that’s a


recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately will weaken us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam; it’s the lesson of Iraq — and we should have learned it by now. (Applause.)


Fortunately, there is a smarter


approach, a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national power.


alone if necessary, to protect our people and our allies; but on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and make sure other countries pull their own weight.


That’s our approach to conflicts like Syria, where we’re partnering with local forces and leading international efforts to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace.


That’s why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and principled diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.


And as


we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war. (Applause.)


of Ebola in West Africa.


That’s how we stopped the spread (Applause.)


Our


military, our doctors, our development workers — they were heroic; they set up the platform that then allowed other countries to join in behind us and stamp out that epidemic. Hundreds of thousands, maybe a couple million lives were saved.


That’s how we forged a Trans-Pacific


Partnership to open markets, and protect workers and the environment, and advance American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products made in America, which will then support more good jobs here in America. With TPP, China does not set the rules in that region; we do. You want to show our strength in this new century? Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it. It’s the right thing to do. (Applause.)


Let me give you another example. That is the


Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, and set us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations — (applause) — opened the door to travel and commerce, positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. (Applause.) So if you want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere, recognize that the Cold War is over — lift the embargo. (Applause.)


The point is American leadership in the


21st century is not a choice between ignoring the rest of the world — except when we kill terrorists — or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unraveling.


Leadership


means a wise application of military power, and rallying the world behind causes that are right. It means seeing our foreign assistance as a part of our national security, not something separate, not charity.


most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change, yes, that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our kids. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we depend on. When we help African countries feed their people and care for the sick — (applause) — it’s the right thing to do, and it prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, we’re on track to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS. That’s within our grasp. (Applause.) And we have the chance to accomplish the same thing with malaria — something I’ll be pushing this Congress to fund this year. (Applause.)


That’s American American leadership. strength. That’s And that kind of


leadership depends on the power of our example.


That’s why I will keep working


to shut down the prison at Guantanamo. (Applause.) It is expensive, it is unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies.


(Applause.) There’s a


better way. (Applause.) And that’s why we need to reject any


politics — any politics — that targets people because of race or religion. Let me just say this.


(Applause.) This is not a matter


of political correctness. This is a matter of understanding just what it is that makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity, and our openness, and the way we respect every


It says America will always act,


His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot that I’m standing on tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” When


politicians insult Muslims, whether


abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. (Applause.) It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. It betrays who we are as a country. (Applause.)


“We the People.” Our Constitution begins


with those three simple words, words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together, and that’s how we might perfect our Union. And that brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing that I want to say tonight.


The future we want — all of us want — opportunity and security for our families, a rising standard of living, a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids — all that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we work together.


It will


only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates. It will only happen if we fix our politics.


A better politics doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. This is a big country — different regions, different attitudes, interests.


different That’s one of our strengths, too. Our


Founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, fiercely, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security.


of trust between its citizens.


But democracy does require basic bonds It doesn’t work if


we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice.


It doesn’t work if we


think that our political opponents are unpatriotic or trying to weaken America. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise, or when even basic facts are contested, or when we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get all the attention.


And most of all,


democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some special interest.


now.


Too many Americans feel that way right It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency


— that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. I have no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.


But, my fellow Americans, this cannot be


my task — or any President’s — alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this chamber, good people who would like to see more cooperation, would like to see a more elevated debate in Washington, but feel trapped by the imperatives of getting elected, by the noise coming out of your base. I know; you’ve told me. It’s the worst-kept secret in Washington. And a lot of you aren’t enjoying being trapped in that kind of rancor.


When we lead nearly 200 nations to the — and I’m addressing now — if we want a better politics,


But that means if we want a better politics the American people it’s not


enough just to change a congressman or change a senator or even change a President. We have to change the system to reflect our better selves. I think we’ve got to end the practice of drawing our congressional


districts so that politicians


can pick their voters, and not the other way around. (Applause.) Let a bipartisan group do it. (Applause.)


We have to reduce the influence of money


in our politics, so that a handful of families or hidden interests can’t bankroll our elections. (Applause.)


And if our existing approach to


campaign finance reform can’t pass muster in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution — because it’s a problem.


And


most of you don’t like raising money. I know; I’ve done it. (Applause.) We’ve got to make it easier to vote, not harder.


(Applause.) We


need to modernize it for the way we live now. (Applause.) This is America: We want to make it easier for people to participate. And over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push for reforms that do just that.


But I can’t do these things on my own.


(Applause.) Changes in our political process — in not just who gets elected, but how they get elected — that will only happen when the American people demand it.


It depends on you.


That’s what’s meant by a government of, by, and for the people.


What I’m suggesting is hard. It’s a lot


easier to be cynical; to accept that change is not possible, and politics is hopeless, and the problem


The Hampton Roads Messenger 11


is all the folks who are elected don’t care, and to believe that our voices and actions don’t matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money and power will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. And then, as frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into our respective tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background.


We can’t afford to go down that path. It


won’t deliver the economy we want. It will not produce the security we want. But most of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.


So, my fellow Americans, whatever you


may believe, whether you prefer one party or no party, whether you supported my agenda or fought as hard as you could against it — our collective futures depends on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. (Applause.) We need every American to stay active in our public life — and not just during election time — so that our public life reflects the goodness and the decency that I see in the American people every single day.


It is not easy. Our brand of democracy


is hard. But I can promise that a little over a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I will be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that helped America travel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not, first and foremost, as black or white, or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born, not as Democrat or Republican, but as Americans first, bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word — voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.


And they’re out there, those voices. They


don’t get a lot of attention; they don’t seek a lot of fanfare; but they’re busy doing the work this country needs doing. I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country of ours. I see you, the American people. And in your daily acts of citizenship, I see our future unfolding.


I see it in the worker on the assembly line


who clocked extra shifts to keep his company open, and the boss who pays him higher wages instead of laying him off.


I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late


at night to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early, and maybe with some extra supplies that she bought because she knows that that young girl might someday cure a disease.


I see it in the American who served his


time, and bad mistakes as a child but now is dreaming of starting over — and I see it in the business owner who gives him that second chance. The protester determined to prove that justice matters — and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe. (Applause.)


I see it in the soldier who gives almost


everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him till he can run a marathon, the community that lines up to cheer him on.


It’s the son who finds the courage to


come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything he’s been taught. (Applause.)


I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his vote for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count — because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.


That’s the America I know.


country we love. Clear-eyed. Undaunted by challenge.


That’s the Optimistic


Big-hearted. that


unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. (Applause.) That’s what makes me so hopeful about our future. I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people. The


And that’s why I stand here confident as I have ever been that the State of our Union is strong. (Applause.)


Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)


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