Just because its hard, thats no excuse not to try
Yes, it will be hard, and it wont happen overnight. It wont happen during this Congress. It wont happen during my presidency. But a lot of things dont happen overnight. A womans right to vote didnt happen overnight. The liberation of African Americans didnt happen overnight. LGBT rights that was decades worth of work. So just because its hard, thats no excuse not to try.
And if you have any doubt as to why you should feel that fierce urgency of now, think about what happened three weeks ago. Zaevion Dobson was a sophomore at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. He played football; beloved by his classmates and his teachers. His own mayor called him one of their citys success stories. The week before Christmas, he headed to a friends house to play video games. He wasnt in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadnt made a bad decision. He was exactly where any other kid would be. Your kid. My kids. And then gunmen started firing. And Zaevion who was in high school, hadnt even gotten started in life dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets. And he was shot in the head. And the girls were spared. He gave his life to save theirs - an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.
We are not asked to do what Zaevion Dobson did. Were not asked to have shoulders that big; a heart that strong; reactions that quick. Im not asking people to have that same level of courage, or sacrifice, or love. But if we love our kids and care about their prospects, and if we love this country and care about its future, then we can find the courage to vote. We can find the courage to get mobilized and organized. We can find the courage to cut through all the noise and do what a sensible country would do.
Thats what were doing today. And tomorrow, we should do more. And we should do more the day after that. And if we do, well leave behind a nation thats stronger than the one we inherited and worthy of the sacrifice of a young man like Zaevion.
MOre@
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/01/05/just-because-its-hard-thats-no-excuse-not-to-try/
"Thank you, President Obama, for taking a crucial step forward on gun violence. Our next president has to build on that progressnot rip it away." - Hillary Clinton
Thank you so much, Hillary~