On the recordMay 19, 2014
Let me really thank the gentleman from Nevada for constantly reminding us of what a great country we live in and how it can be so improved. Mr. Speaker, in having fought in the war--screaming and yelling and complaining, but recognizing how great this Nation is--it was an opportunity to say thank you for the blessings that have been bestowed on this Nation and to think about those who drafted a constitution that didn't include slaves or women or people who didn't hold land. Yet they drafted a document that was flexible enough for us to be able to say that that great Statue of Liberty meant that we would bring talents from all over the world to come to make us the largest democracy and the strongest military and the greatest economic force in the world; and we have done that because we have always felt that, no matter what your background is, if you could get here, you could make it here. When we talk about the Brown decision, nobody ever thought that, in just sitting next to White folks or to Black folks, that we were going to get a better education. What we tried to overcome in our schools is that nobody of color who picked cotton or who fought in the battlefields--who had as high a patriotic record as any other group of people--would not be able to be denied the opportunity to participate in the economic growth of this country. If individuals succeed in this country, it means communities succeed in this country. When that happens, the Nation succeeds.…
