Austin

We are tempted to despair as those in power try to make a virtue of their cruelty, their corruption and their obscene defiance of that which sets us apart from barbarism and unites us in our humanity: the rule of law, our constitution and government of by and for the people.

They want us to fear that their rise to power, their consolidation of authoritarian control is inevitable.

But look around you… we are the antidote to despair, to fear… and together we are the key to victory.

Do not forsake hope but instead count yourself lucky to be alive at this moment of truth. How many generations of Americans have been given the chance to save this country?

Remember what we are made of:

We are the people who defeated the most powerful empire on the planet to win our independence and ensure that never again would we bend the knee to a king

We are the people who forced the surrender of the confederacy to fulfill the promise of our independence — that we are all created equal and shall be treated so under the law.

We are the people who withstood the divisions of the third reich to defeat fascism abroad and ensure that it could never succeed at home.

And We are the people who peacefully and nonviolently overcame the armed and elected thugs of Jim Crow to win civil and voting rights for every single American.

We are the heirs of this legacy of service and sacrifice.

What we do with this inheritance will define us in the eyes of history and determine what is possible for this great country.

We will overcome this challenge as we have the ones before and we will create a future of freedom, of fairness and opportunity for all.

Though the hour is late and the path forward is the toughest we will ever walk — my faith is in you, in all of us, that we will nobly save this last best hope of earth, together.

Keep the faith, keep up the fight.