So many good things in this speech.
“We have to stop pretending that countries that hold an election where the winner somehow magically gets 90 percent of the vote because the opposition is locked up or can’t get on TV is a democracy.”
“We have to stop pretending that countries that hold an election where the winner somehow magically gets 90 percent of the vote because the opposition is locked up or can’t get on TV is a democracy.”
“Those who traffic in absolutes when it comes to policy, whether it’s on the left or the right, they make democracy unworkable.”
“We have to actually believe in an objective reality. You have to believe in facts. Without facts, there is no basis for cooperation. If I say this is a podium and you say this is an elephant, it’s going to be hard for us to cooperate.”
“I can find common ground [and have a debate with] those who oppose the Paris Accords because they might say you can’t get everybody to cooperate, or it’s more important for us to provide cheap energy for the poor, even if it means in the short term that there’s more pollution.”
“I can’t find common ground if somebody says climate change is just not happening, when almost all of the world’s scientists tell us it is. I don’t know where to start talking to you about this. If you say it’s an elaborate hoax, where do we start?”
“Unfortunately, too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. We see it in anti-intellectualism and the rejection of science from leaders who find critical thinking and data somehow politically inconvenient.”
“As with the denial of rights, the denial of facts runs counter to democracy, it could be its undoing. We must zealously protect independent media; guard against social media becoming a platform for outrage or disinformation; we have to teach critical thinking to young people.”
“Things may go backwards for a while but ultimately, right makes might. Young people, my message to you is simple: keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice. Every generation has the opportunity to remake the world. Now is a good time to be fired up.”
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