This country was founded upon the principle that we are all endowed with certain inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - those rights are what make America great, and they belong to each and every one of us.

I really think that most people around the world know how well-intended Americans are.

The United States is historically a nation of immigrants.

We all have a large stake in preserving our democracy, but I maintain that those without power in our society, the black, the brown, the poor of all colors, have the largest stake not because we have the most to lose, but because we have worked the hardest, and given the most, for what we have achieved.

Regardless of the nature of their crime or any rehabilitation that may have occurred, these ex-felons cannot participate in the decision-making process of this great Nation.

I, for one, would think both about how far we have come as a country and how much further we need to go to erase racism and discrimination from our society.

Of course things get stagnant; people get too used to their environment, but that's why I'm in my district every week, at meetings with my constituents.