September 15, 2008

I am privileged to be mayor of Miami, a city built on the dreams of so many who have come to America searching for freedom and opportunity. I left Cuba at age six, arriving on my mother’s lap. We didn’t have a penny to our name, but I grew up to become mayor of one of America’s greatest cities and president of The United States Conference of Mayors.

I believe in the American dream because I am a product of it. This is the only country in the world that inspires a dream. We provide refuge to those seeking freedom, hope to those seeking opportunity. Our nation’s history is built on the stories of men and women who, from many, have become one. It does not matter what your name is, where you came from or what language your ancestors spoke.

We are all Americans. We all want the dignity that comes from a hard day’s work. We all want the freedom from worry when a loved one gets sick. We all want schools where our children can learn what is needed to succeed. We all want the opportunity to dream.

En America—de muchos somos uno—y es nuestro deber proteger el sueno americano para todos.

The past eight years have placed this dream in jeopardy. Today, we must defend the dream for all Americans.

Para esto, necesitamos un cambio. For this, we need change, change to restore faith in our country and faith in ourselves.

We stand on the foundation of hope built by those who came before us. We have a duty to keep the dream alive for our children, and their children. When the voices of fear and doubt say we cannot, we must answer: yes, we can. Si se puede.

We can end the era in which Americans have come to believe that getting by is good enough. We can end the era in which we dreamt small or failed to dream at all.

Now is our time to restore the dream. A nation where you are not judged on the language you speak, but the words spoken; not by the color of your skin, but the content of your character.

A nation where a six year old, like Barack, like Manuel, can have access to opportunity, the audacity of hope, the reality of the dream. A nation where future generations will be able to proclaim that we left them a world better than we received.