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Everyone needs to understand that we were meant to live together in this country. We have to get to know one another; even if we don't agree, we have to enable each side to express itself.

We can continue our progress as a Nation toward the promise that all people are created equal and that our Nation will treat every person in that spirit.

Now, as a nation, we don't promise equal outcomes, but we were founded on the idea everybody should have an equal opportunity to succeed. No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, you can make it. That's an essential promise of America. Where you start should not determine where you end up.

I believe this country was built on a simple promise: that each of us deserves a fair shot.

We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. It is time now to write the next chapter - and to write it in the books of law.

We are all equal, rich and poor, and we need a society where the people enjoy their rights.

We are not supposed to be all equal. Let's just forget that. We are supposed to have equal rights under law. If we do that, we have done enough.

Today, we stand as a united country and are much closer to the ideals set forth in our Constitution that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This is the time to pull together as a Nation, as different people from all over the States with different perspectives and different social statuses and different income brackets, to unify into one and help those on the ground who need our help the most.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.