Focused "read":
Video ~ approximately 1 hour
Transcript ~ approximately 20 minutes...
In
her last major speech...
"Ambassador Samantha Power on Russia: The Threat, the International Order, and the Way
Forward
… Let me conclude. In 1796, our nation’s first President, George Washington, used his farewell address to issue a stark warning to the American people about the danger of foreign governments trying to interfere in our democracy. He told his audience: “Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens), the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”
More than 220 years later, Washington’s warning feels strikingly relevant. For if anything, the vulnerabilities that Washington saw, in his words, “to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils” — those are his words — those have only multiplied with modern technology. And unlike in 1796, it is no longer enough for us simply to protect our own democracy against foreign interference; we also have to protect the integrity of the entire rules-based international order, on whose foundations our security and our prosperity rest.
Yet while so much has changed since Washington issued his warning, the essence of the threat has not. It goes to the creation of America itself — a nation born out of a simple, yet revolutionary idea: that it was the American people, ordinary citizens — and not a government, domestic or foreign — who should enjoy the rights to shape our nation’s path. That is a right that we have had to fight to defend throughout our history. And while in recent decades we may have felt confident that no power would dare try to take that right away from us, we have again been reminded that they will try.
Just as the threat is fundamentally unchanged since Washington’s time, so is our most effective way to confront it. And that is by renewing the faith of the American people in our democracy. Our democracy’s vitality has long depended on sustaining the belief among our citizens that a government by and for the people is the best way to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, to preserve the freedoms we value most, and to expand our opportunities. It is not that we have a perfect system, but a perfectible system — one that the American people always have the power to improve, to renew, to make our own. That faith is the engine that has powered our republic since its creation, and it is the reason other nations still look to America as a model.
And it is precisely that faith that the Russian government’s interference is intended to shake. The Kremlin’s aim is to convince our people that the system is rigged; that all facts are relative; that ordinary people who try to improve their communities and their country are wasting their time. In the place of faith, they offer cynicism. In the place of engagement, indifference. ... "
You can watch the video here
You can read the transcript here
Focused Thought 30 seconds
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Direct source information for Democrats:
The Democratic Party Website
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(Remember 2018...)
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Curated by Gail Mountain, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Democratic Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided! You can read more Network For #StrongerTogether posts here: https://networkstrongertogether.blogspot.com/
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
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