Speeches & Testimony

"Aloha! 

I know that this moment - a moment that until now you have only dreamed of, that you have worked so long and hard for – fills you and your families with so many emotions, and that foremost among them are gratitude and pride.

But I am here representing your fellow citizens to say that it is we who are grateful, we who are proud, that you have chosen to join us in pledging your allegiance to our great country.

In our world today live 7.5 billion citizens of our earth. We all have the same hopes and dreams, the same longings for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

But only 329 million of us, only four percent, including now you, are citizens of the united states of America.

Before you leave here as full citizens, I ask you to think about what that really means? To you, to your fellow citizens and to your country.

Here are a few thoughts:

It means that you are now a partner with all of us in the greatest experiment in government in world history: a country founded not on any one religion, or ethnicity, or tribe, or place, but on common values in how we treat each other and our world. Here what really matters is our shared values.

It means that you must embrace, and celebrate our diversity. Our country is full of citizens from places nothing like where you are from, with religions of different beliefs than yours, who look, act, dress, work and play different than you, with different beliefs. In other countries, these differences have been cause for deep divisions and even war. But here we have bet that they are our strength.

It means that you must participate, that you must serve. Our country is not about being served, but about serving your fellow citizens and our world. We welcome today as our new fellow citizen Abdullah Al-Noman; born in Bangladesh, he serves his country in the united states army, and we are deeply grateful for his service. But there are many ways to serve, and your country and our communities need you.

It means that you must vote. Our country was founded as a representative democracy. To be that. The citizens like me that represent you in our government should and must be your choice. Don’t let others make that choice for you by not voting. You worked too long and hard for that right.

Being a citizen is hard work, and the road we started down almost 250 years ago now is a long one filled with curves and obstacles and detours that test our will.

But we have survived and prospered because we believe in our foundations, and our principles, and our common values and goals.

And we believe in each other and our shared journey.

We now trust and believe in you, to give more than you’ve already given to become a citizen to being a citizen.

As we say here in Hawai’i, e komo mai, come in, you are welcome here. Welcome to your country.

Aloha, and god bless our united states of America."