This morning I listened to the BYU Forum Speech that Senator Joseph Lieberman gave on October 25, 2011. I listened to him speak I was reminded how important it is for us to have Esperanza leaders and educators who are principled people—no matter what their religion. In other words, we need to look at his/her personal qualities, leadership, experience, and qualifications.
In 2000 Sen. Lieberman became the first Jewish American to become nominated for national office as the vice presidential running mate to Al Gore. “In that year I personally experienced the American people’s generosity of spirit, their fairness, and acceptance of religious diversity.”
Sen. Lieberman recounted that on the day he was nominated, Reverend Jesse Jackson said, “In America, when a barrier is broken for one, the doors of opportunity open wider for every other American.”
This quote by Lieberman in his speech should be something else we want to remember as we teach our Esperanza scholars: “Faith in God, love of country, sense of unity, confidence in the power of every individual—these are the things that are going to carry the American people through crises greater than the ones we face today, and will, I’m sure, propel us forward to a better place if only we will return to those values and recognize them as a source of national strength. And I hope in some sense, the presence of faith in the public square will let us do that. The greatest source of American strength and hope for the future is not in current devices and rigid politics of Washington, it is in the broadly shared faith and values of the American people,” he said.
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