Excerpts Of Remarks As Prepared For Delivery At The National Action Network ConventionJohn Edwards 08
New York, New York – Below are excerpts of remarks as prepared for delivery today by Senator John Edwards at the Ninth Annual National Action Network Convention's "Keepers of the Dream Dinner."
(snip)
"There can be no debate over how much bigotry is too much bigotry. Any bigotry is too much.
"There can be no question of how much intolerance this country can tolerate; we have already tolerated its effects for far too long.
"And let's be crystal clear: Intolerance affects everything, starting with our economy and ending with our ability to lead at a time of massive global change and new threats to our security.
"I think some people really believe that we have put these things behind us; that the civil rights movement took care of all that and everyone is on a level playing field now.
"I think some people really believe that all you have to do to succeed in this country is pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work hard.
"Well, I can tell you, I have traveled all over this country and I have been in the places where people's bootstraps are worn to a thread from all the pulling they've been doing. Places where all the hard work in the world hasn't helped to pull them out of poverty—because the system discriminates and opportunity isn't equal. But if we come together and are honest about it, we can change that and build an America that gives every American an equal chance.
"There is no question in my mind that intolerance is a direct cause of one of our greatest and most threatening problems: the growing disparity between rich and poor, between haves and have nots, between working people and all those powerful forces who do not have their best interests in mind. Because guess what? The people that are usually the targets of intolerance and bigotry are too often the same people who suffer from lack of opportunity, the same people who are left behind. And as long as intolerance pervades our culture, it's far too easy for politicians in Washington to ignore the big changes we need to make in order to end poverty once and for all.
"I don't just talk about these issues here—racial intolerance, the two Americas that still exists—I talk about them everywhere I go, because it's silence that allows them to survive and even thrive. And I hope everyone running for president will do the same, because we have an obligation and the opportunity to help end the silence.
Continued @
http://johnedwards.com/news/speeches/20070418-national-action-network/ 
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