We're not talking in sound bites. We're talking about the real issues
facing the American people. Yes, I can get up here and say,
"My goal is to ban this or that person from coming into America."
A very simple statement, a very stupid statement.
[applause]
But it's a statement- It's a statement that can be put into a six second sound bite.
I could give you another statement and tell you something horrific and ugly
and disgusting.
That all of our Mexican friends are quote-unquote "criminal or rapists"
That will get me media attention,
but it is a disgusting statement that must be repudiated by everyone.
[applause and whistles]
We cannot say that we are the land of the free, home of the brave
when we throw folks away even after they have served their debt to society.
We don't give them the opportunity to live out their greatest greatness.
This really is about restorative justice.
That when folks come back home, they need to have a job,
they need to have somewhere to live,
they need a support system.
And it's not just a one-time proposition.
As humans we fail, over and over and over again
And I want you to think about your lives
that if you hadn't had some type of support system
whether that's a family member or a minister, a rabbi, an imam
just somebody that you can talk things through.
Where would you be as a human being?
And so we cannot, any longer, continue to throw people away
and I am so happy that Sen. Sanders is willing to take on these issues
head-on. And talk about them head-on.
And deal with the fact that black and brown folks are disproportionately locked up.
[applause]
And if anyone in this room thinks there is not a direct correlation
between very high youth unemployment and another terrible tragedy:
The fact that we have more people in jail today in America
than any other country on Earth.
If you think there's not a correlation, you would be dead wrong.
In my view, [applause] it makes a lot more sense-
It makes a lot more sense for us to be investing in jobs
and education for the young people, rather than jails and incarceration.
[applause and cheers]
I'm going to make a couple of promises to you tonight.
You can write them down. You can hold me accountable in five years.
Promise number one:
And that is, by the end of my first term
the United States will not have more people in jail
than any other country on Earth.
[applause and cheers]
All of us are aware that we live in a difficult and very, very dangerous world
and we all know that there are people out there who want to do us harm.
And certainly one of the major responsibilities of anyone
who is President of the United States is to do everything in his or her power
to defend this nation and to keep our people safe.
I accept that responsibility, but what I will do with foreign policy
is not just be tough, not just speak loudly, but be smart.
[applause]
In fact, in fact I would go so far as to say,
that if we send significant numbers of ground troops into Syria to fight ISIS,
this is exactly what ISIS wants.
[applause]
They want to then reach out to the Muslim world and say, "Join us in the fight
against the West, and the United States."
So what do we do? What is a sensible policy?
In my view, what the United States must do is lead
in the formation of an international coalition
in which the Muslim nations must come together
and overcome the many differences they now have.
I know that Iran and Saudi Arabia have very strong differences.
I know that the Kurds and Turkey have very strong differences.
But what we have got to do is lead the effort to bring these countries together
to make certain that ISIS, and the destruction of ISIS
is the agenda that everybody coordinates their activities with.
[cheers and applause]
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