Political Quotes

“And still I rise, and still I rise. I rise today, as always, when I address persons in this most sacred place in my heart. I rise as a proud American. I am proud to say that I am an American. I am proud to say that I am American because my foreparents made it what it is. Its greatness can be traced back to 240 years of free labor, free sacrifice, and I am proud. I wear this tie indicating that I am proud. I salute the flag. I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I sing the national anthem. I am proud to be an American, and why wouldn't I be proud, given that my foreparents made it great. The greatness of America resides today on the economic foundations laid by persons of African ancestry. They are the economic foundational mothers and fathers of this country. Now, there are some who say to me, literally: How can you be proud, Al Green, when your foreparents were put into chains, when they were beaten, when women were raped, when they were born into slavery and lived their lives as slaves? How can you be proud? I can be proud because I have the power to forgive, the power to forgive for all of these transgressions. God has given me this power. I would hope that others could acquire the power to forgive. The power to forgive is the power that will allow you to go on to do other things. God did not give me, however, the power to forget. Forgive and forget is not a sensible statement of where the heart and mind should be, in my opinion. It is forgive and remember.…”