Barack Obama

“ We declared that health care in America is a privilege not for the few, but a right for everybody. Today our uninsured rate is at the lowest levels on record. And we’ve done all this while doubling our production of clean energy, lowering our carbon pollution faster than any advanced nation. So we’ve proven that you can grow the economy and reduce the carbon emissions that cause climate change at the same time. (Applause.)
Now, I say all this not because we’ve solved every problem. Our work is far from complete. There are still too many people in America who are worried about their futures. ”

“ We could work to expand the rights that were established in our founding to African Americans, and to women, to Americans with disabilities, to Native Americans; why all Americans now have the freedom to marry the person they love. (Applause.) It’s why we welcome people of all races and all religions and all backgrounds, and immigrants who strive to give their children a better life and who make our country stronger.
And so here, where democracy was born, we affirm once more the rights and the ideals and the institutions upon which our way of life endures. ”

“ They burn in every human heart.
It’s why a Greek bishop atop a mountain raised the flag of independence. It’s why peoples from the Americas to Africa to Asia threw off the yoke of colonialism. It’s why people behind an Iron Curtain marched in Solidarity, and tore down that wall, and joined you in a great union of democracies. It’s why, today, we support the right of Ukrainians to choose their own destiny; why we partner with Tunisians and the people of Myanmar as they make historic transitions to democracy. ”

“ And that’s why, as hard as it can be sometimes, it’s important for young people, in particular, who are just now becoming involved in the lives of their countries, to understand that progress follows a winding path -- sometimes forward, sometimes back -- but as long as we retain our faith in democracy, as long as we retain our faith in the people, as long as we don’t waver from those central principles that ensure a lively, open debate, then our future will be okay, because it remains the most effective form of government ever devised by man. ”

“ Open, democratic societies can deliver more prosperity --because when people are free to think for themselves and share ideas and discover and create -- the young people who are here, what they’re able to do through the Internet and technology, that’s when innovation is unleashed, when economies truly flourish. That’s when new products, and new services, and new ideas wash through an economy. In contrast to regimes that rule by coercion, democracies are rooted in consent of the governed
-- citizens know that there’s a path for peaceful change, including the moral force of nonviolence. ”

“ The notion that we are citizens -- not servants, but stewards of our society. The concept of citizenship -- that we have both rights and responsibilities. The belief in equality before the law -- not just for a few, but for the many; not just for the majority, but also the minority. These are all concepts that grew out of this rocky soil.
Of course, the earliest forms of democracy here in Athens were far from perfect -- just as the early forms of democracy in the United States were far from perfect. The rights of ancient Athens were not extended to women or to slaves. ”

“ It's not somebody else's job, it's not somebody else's responsibility, but it's the citizens of our countries and citizens of the world to bend that arc of history towards justice.
And that’s what democracy allows us to do. That's why the most important office in any country is not president or prime minister. The most important title is “citizen.” (Applause.) And in all of our nations, it will always be our citizens who decide the kind of countries we will be, the ideals that we will reach for, and the values that will define us. ”

“ And we actually know the path to building more inclusive economies. It’s just we too often don’t have the political will or desire to get it done. We know we need bold policies that spur growth and support jobs. We know that we need to give workers more leverage and better wages, and that, in fact, if you give workers better wages businesses do better, too, because their customers now have money to spend.
We know that we have to invest more in our people -- the education of our young people, the skills and training to compete in the global economy. ”

“ What we’ve also seen is that this global integration is increasing the tendencies towards inequality, both between nations and within nations, at an accelerated pace. And when we see people -- global elites, wealthy corporations -- seemingly living by a different set of rules, avoiding taxes, manipulating loopholes -- when the rich and the powerful appear to game the system and accumulate vast wealth while middle and working-class families struggle to make ends meet, this feeds a profound sense of injustice and a feeling that our economies are increasingly unfair. ”

“ The history of the past two centuries indicates that democracies are less likely to fight wars among themselves. So more democracy is good for the people of the world, but it’s also good for our national security. Which is why America’s closest friends are democracies -- like Greece. It’s why we stand together in NATO -- an alliance of democracies.
In recent years, we’ve made historic investments in NATO, increased America’s presence in Europe, and today’s NATO -- the world’s greatest alliance -- is as strong and as ready as it’s ever been. ”

“ The first step has been to build a foundation that allows you to return to robust economic growth. And we don’t need to recount all the causes of the economic crisis here in Greece. If we’re honest, we can acknowledge that it was a mix of both internal and external forces. The Greek economy and the level of debt had become unsustainable. And in this global economy, investment and jobs flow to countries where governments are efficient, not bloated, where the rules are clear. To stay competitive, to attract investment that creates jobs, Greece had to start a reform process. ”

“ And I am confident that just as America’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance has endured for seven decades --whether it’s been under a Democratic or Republican administration -- that commitment will continue, including our pledge and our treaty obligation to defend every ally.
Our democracies show that we’re stronger than terrorists, and fundamentalists, and absolutists who can’t tolerate difference, can’t tolerate ideas that vary from their own, who try to change people’s way of life through violence and would make us betray or shrink from our values. ”

“ And in advanced economies, there are at times movements from both the left and the right to put a stop to integration, and to push back against technology, and to try to bring back jobs and industries that have been disappearing for decades. So this impulse to pull back from a globalized world is understandable. If people feel that they’re losing control of their future, they will push back. We have seen it here in Greece. We’ve seen it across Europe. We’ve seen it in the United States. ”

“ By necessity, we work with all countries, and many of them are not democracies. Some of them are democracies in the sense they have elections, but not democracies in the sense of actually permitting participation and dissent. But our trajectory as a country has been to support the efforts of those who believe in self-governance, who believe in those ideas that began here so many years ago.
And it is not simply a matter of us being true to our values. It’s not just a matter of idealism. I believe it is practical for the United States to support democracies. ”

“ We passed the strongest Wall Street reforms in history so that the excesses and abuses that triggered the global financial crisis never happen again -- or at least don’t start on Wall Street.
And today, our businesses have created more than 15 million new jobs. Incomes last year in America rose faster than any time since 1968. Poverty fell at the fastest rate since 1968. Inequality is being narrowed. And we’ve also begun to close the pay gap between men and women. ”

“ Freedom of speech and assembly -- because true legitimacy can only come from the people, who must never be silenced. A free press to expose injustice and corruption and hold leaders accountable. Freedom of religion -- because we’re all equal in the eyes of God. Independent judiciaries to uphold rule of law and human rights. Separation of powers to limit the reach of any one branch of government. Free and fair elections -- because citizens must be able to choose their own leaders, even if your candidate doesn’t always win. (Laughter.)
We compete hard in campaigns in America and here in Greece. ”

“ As Greece continues to implement reforms, the IMF has said that debt relief will be crucial to get Greece back to growth. They are right. It is important because if reforms here are going to be sustained, people need to see hope, and they need to see progress. And the young people who are in attendance here today and all across the country need to know there is a future -- there is an education and jobs that are worthy of your incredible potential. You don’t have to travel overseas, you can put roots right here in your home, in Greece, and succeed. ”

“ The poorest child in any of our countries now has a sense of what other people have that they don’t. So not only is there increasing inequality, but also there is greater awareness of inequality. And that’s a volatile mix for our democracies.
And this is why addressing inequality has been one of the key areas of focus for my economic policy. In our countries, in America and in most advanced market economies, we want people to be rewarded for their achievement. We think that people should be rewarded if they come up with a new product or a new service that is popular and helps a lot of people. ”

“ Now, democracy, like all human institutions, is imperfect. It can be slow; it can be frustrating; it can be hard; it can be messy. Politicians tend to be unpopular in democracies, regardless of party, because, by definition, democracies require that you don’t get a hundred percent of what you want. It requires compromise. Winston Churchill famously said that democracy is the worst form of government -- except for all the others. (Laughter.) And in a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural society, like the United States, democracy can be especially complicated. ”

“ In a world of widening inequality, there's a growing suspicion -- or even disdain -- for elites and institutions that seem remote from the daily lives of ordinary people. What an irony it is, at a time when we can reach out to people in the most remote corners of the planet, so many citizens feel disconnected from their own governments. ”

“ As authoritarian governments work to close space that citizens depend upon to organize and have their voices heard, we've begun the work of empowering civil society to defend democratic values and promote solutions to the problems within our communities. And as so many people around the world sometimes are tempted by cynicism and not being involved because they think that politicians and government don’t care about them, we've created networks for young leaders and invested in young entrepreneurs, because we believe that the hope and renewal of our societies begins with the voices of youth. ”

“ But when a CEO of a company now makes more money in a single day than a typical worker does in an entire year, when it’s harder for workers to climb their way up the economic ladder, when they see a factory close that used to support an entire city or town, fuels the feeling that globalization only benefits those at the top. ”

“ Now, at times, even today, those ideals are challenged. We’ve been told that these are Western ideals. We’ve been told that some cultures are not equipped for democratic governance and actually prefer authoritarian rule. And I will say that after eight years of being President of the United States, having traveled around the globe, it is absolutely true that every country travels its own path, every country has its own traditions. ”

“ But it bends towards justice not because it is inevitable, but because we bend it towards justice; not because there are not going to be barriers to achieving justice, but because there will be people, generation after generation, who have the vision and the courage and the will to bend the arc of our lives in the direction of a better future. ”

“ For when competition for resources is perceived as zero-sum, we put ourselves on a path to conflict both within countries and between countries. So I firmly believe that the best hope for human progress remains open markets combined with democracy and human rights. ”

“ But given the nature of technology, it is my assertion that it’s not possible to cut ourselves off from one another. We now are living in a global supply chain. Our growth comes through innovation and ideas that are crossing borders all the time. The jobs of tomorrow will inevitably be different from the jobs of the past. ”

“ Around the world, integration and closer cooperation, and greater trade and commerce, and the Internet -- all have improved the lives of billions of people -- lifted families from extreme poverty, cured diseases, helped people live longer, gave them more access to education and opportunity than at any time in human history. ”