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.

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 ballots; 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.

We know the battle

ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in

our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling

for change. (We want change.)

We have been told we cannot do this by a

chorus of cynics…they will only grow louder and more dissonant ……….. We’ve been

asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the

people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America,

there has never been anything false about hope.Now the hopes of the little

girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the

boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something

happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that

we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great

chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to

coast; from sea to shining sea: Yes We Can.