Subject: This is not who we are
From: Barack Obama <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:12:27 -0500

John --

Over the course of my time on the national stage, a lot has 
been said about the fact that a guy with a name like Barack 
Hussein Obama could be elected President of the United 
States. And over the years, because of my background, 
I've heard questions about my religion, my place of birth, 
even whether or not I love this country.

I always dismissed that kind of talk, but I've also learned to 
listen closely when a conversation starts to lean on fear and 
ignorance.

So I pay attention when I hear the Republican frontrunner 
for president call for a ban on Muslims entering this country. 
And when their other candidates say we should only admit 
Christian refugees, not Muslims, or that there should be a 
religious test to determine which people fleeing a war-torn 
country can enter ours.

John, that's not who we are.

While just about every nation in the world opens their doors to 
immigrants, in America we understand that a facet of our 
national identity stems from the fact that we are a country born 
of immigrants. It's part of what makes us exceptional. We 
celebrate this heritage, as an immigrant nation, but also 
recognize that we haven't always lived up to our own ideals. 
There have been times in our history when we have not 
been as welcoming or tolerant as we should have been.

And John, I want to make sure that we don't allow today to 
be another one of those chapters in American history that we 
look back on knowing that we could have done better. If you 
agree, pitch in $3 or whatever you can to help elect leaders 
who will move us forward by ensuring we never lead from a 
place of fear and divisiveness:

https://my.democrats.org/Invest-in-Democrats

This week, many of us will hear a familiar story about a young 
couple in a foreign city, just looking for a place to stay for the 
night, and being told over and over again that there is no room 
for them. And I hope in the spirit of this holiday, we'll take the 
time to think about how we can come together and live up to 
the founding ideals of this country.
 
Thank you, and safe and happy holidays to you and your 
family.
 
Barack Obama

 

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