President-elect Obama joined Americans across the country today in honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by joining in one of the 11,000 public service planned for today. This morning he released an official statement honoring Dr. King:
Today, we celebrate the life of a preacher who, more than forty-five years ago, stood on our national mall in the shadow of Lincoln and shared his dream for our nation. His was a vision that all Americans might share the freedom to make of our lives what we will; that our children might climb higher than we would.Dr. Martin Luther King's was a life lived in loving service to others. As we honor that legacy, it's not a day just to pause and reflect - it's a day to act. Today, ordinary citizens will gather together all across the country to participate in the more than eleven thousand service projects they've created using USAservice.org. And I ask the American people to turn today's efforts into an ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of others in their communities, their cities, and their country.Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same mall where Dr. King's dream echoes still. As we do, we recognize that here in America, our destinies are inextricably linked. We resolve that as we walk, we must walk together. And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let's remember King's lesson - that our separate dreams are really one.
Today President-elect Obama participated in the renovation of a "safe space" housing for homeless and "disconnected" teenagers at Sasha Bruce Youthwork (SBY). For more than 30 years, SBY has helped at-risk youth and their families in Washington, DC. CNN reported:
The shelter provides a variety of services -- including counseling, job training, and substance abuse prevention assistance -- for up to 15 teenagers at a time.Roughly 30 teenagers are spending the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday volunteering at the shelter by helping to renovate a dorm room.Obama rolled up his sleeves and pitched in during the visit, using a roller to help paint a couple of walls and a piece of furniture.He also quoted King to the teenagers, noting that "everybody can be great [because] everybody can serve.""Don't underestimate the power of people who join together to accomplish amazing things," Obama added. Given the crisis America is currently in, "we can't allow any idle hands. Everybody's got to pitch in."
You can find more information on today's service events at USAservice.org.
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I'm here tonight to say a few words about an American hero I have come to know very well and admire very much - Senator John McCain. And then, according to the rules agreed to by both parties, John will have approximately thirty seconds to make a rebuttal. But in all seriousness, on this night, we are glad that the days of rebuttals and campaigning are for now behind us. There is no doubt that throughout the summer and the fall, John and I were fierce competitors who engaged in a vigorous and sometimes heated debate over the issues of the day. And in a great democracy, this debate is both healthy and necessary. But what is even healthier and more necessary is the recognition that after the season of campaigning has ended, each of us in public life has a responsibility to usher in a new season of cooperation built on those things we hold in common. Not as Democrats. Not as Republicans. But as Americans. And there are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain. [snip] what makes John such a rare and courageous public servant is not the accomplishments themselves, but the true motivation behind them. It has not been a quest for fame or vanity that has driven this man. It has not been the need to compromise for politics' sake that has shaped his distinguished career. It is rather a pure and deeply felt love of his country that comes from the painful knowledge of what life is like without it. [snip] Thank you, John, for your service to America and the service you will continue to render in the months and years ahead. And I'd like to close by asking all of you to join us in making this bipartisan dinner not just an inaugural tradition, but a new way of doing the people's business in this city. We will not always agree on everything in the months to come, and we will have our share of arguments and debates. But let us strive always to find that common ground, and to defend together those common ideals, for it is the only way we can meet the very big and very serious challenges that we face right now.
