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President Obama Trumpets Community Values at National Press Conference
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement by the Center for Community Change
In his latest press conference, President Obama used community values to chart a new course for the American people.
Washington- Last night during his press conference to the nation, President Barack Obama was a messenger for the ideal of community values--a core part of the work of the national social justice nonprofit, The Center for Community Change. The Center’s core project, The Campaign for Community Values, fights for a return to the beliefs our country was founded on: shared responsibility, shared sacrifice and shared success.
President Obama was quoted saying:
“We'll recover from this recession, but it will take time; it will take patience; and it will take an understanding that when we all work together, when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interest to the wider set of obligations we have towards each other, that's when we succeed. That's when we prosper. And that's what is needed right now.”
“But one of the most important lessons to learn from this crisis is that our economy only works if we recognize that we're all in this together, that we all have responsibilities to each other and to our country.”
“At the same time, the rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit. That drive is what has always fueled our prosperity, and it is what will ultimately get these banks lending and our economy moving once more.”
Reaction to President Obama’s comments by Deepak Bhargava, executive director, The Center for Community Change:
“Our community values have been under attack and the politics of division has set America on an unhealthy competitive course. For too long, our collective quality of life took a back seat to the private accumulation of wealth. Now, we are building a movement to restore our shared values and achieve our common dreams.
“Last night, President Obama led us away from the divisive rhetoric that has pitted communities against one another. We are all ultimately in the same boat. Whether it’s corporate CEOs, a child without health care or an unemployed mother --we will only succeed and prosper working together to solve our shared problems.
“Last night the President wasn’t just the commander-in-chief, he was the teacher-in-chief: giving us all a lesson in what it means to believe in America.”
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The Center for Community Change, a 40 year-old national organization dedicated to building the field of community organizing, with hundreds of local organizations nationwide. Through its Campaign for Community Values-a national coalition of more than 200 grassroots organizations from across the country- we are advancing policies to make America finally work for all of us.
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