Promise and Reality

On Oct 4, 2008 in Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen
said the following on stage at his show :


"Hello Philly,

"I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of
the United States.

"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its
people, and the meaning of the American Promise.
The Promise that was handed down to us, right here
in this city from our founding fathers, with one
instruction: Do your best to make these things real.
Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice,
a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea,
as a positive influence, around the world for a more
just and peaceful existence.
These are the things that give our lives hope, shape,
and meaning.
They are the ties that bind us together and give us
faith in our contract with one another.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the
distance between that American promise and
American reality.
For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been
abandoned in our inner cities.
The distance between that promise and that reality
has never been greater or more painful.

"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure
of that distance in his own life and in his work.
I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost
of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives
of everyday Americans.
I believe as president, he would work to restore
that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who
have justifiably lost faith in its meaning.
After the disastrous administration of the past
8 years, we need someone to lead us in an
American reclamation project. In my job, I travel
the world, and occasionally play big stadiums,
just like Senator Obama.
I've continued to find, wherever I go, America
remains a repository of people's hopes,
possibilities, and desires, and that despite the
terrible erosion to our standing around the world,
accomplished by our recent administration,
we remain, for many, a house of dreams.
One thousand George Bushes and one thousand
Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that
house down.

"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping
the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our
financial crisis in our laps.
Our sacred house of dreams has been abused,
looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair.
It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending
against those who would sell it down the river for
power or a quick buck.
It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs
someone with Senator Obama's understanding,
temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity,
compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us
rebuild our house once again.
But most importantly, it needs us.
You and me.
To build that house with the generosity that is at
the heart of the American spirit.
A house that is truer and big enough to contain
the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens.
That is where our future lies.
We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to
accomplish this task.
Now I don't know about you, but I want that
dream back, I want my America back,
I want my country back.

"So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama
and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves,
and come on up for the rising."

... then, he sang his song " The Rising ".

Bruce Springsteen spends years on travelling
all over the world and he sings for working class
and the supressed.
Big percentage of profit he makes goes to
help-hunger other helping organizations.

He is one of the not-many Americans that are
being welcomed and loved by Europeans.