The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (International Edition)

“‘I hope I can have your support.’ It’s amazing how often people would tell me that no one had ever asked them that directly before…voters wanted to hear about more than just policy. They wanted to know about me personally–who I was, what my life had been like, the experiences that had shaped me. They wanted to understand who I was on a fundamental level.” This book “is a collection of ideas and viewpoints and stories, from my life and from the lives of the many people I’ve met along the way…This book grows out of [a] call to action, and out of my belief that our fight must begin and end with speaking truth…The job of an elected official is not to sing a lullaby and soothe the country into a sense of complacency. The job is to speak truth, even in a moment that does not welcome or invite its utterance.” The Truths We Hold “is the story of people fighting for their humanity–for the simple idea that we should all be equal and free. It is the story of people fighting for the promise made to all future generations at the signing of the Declaration of Independence: that no government has the right to rob us of our life or our liberty or our humble pursuit of happiness.” “It is the very nature of this fight for civil rights and justice and equality that whatever gains we make, they will not be permanent. So we must be vigilant. Understanding that, do not despair. Do not be overwhelmed. Do not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves and fight for who we are.” Live your live as a brush and paint a portrait of a patriot: “not someone who condones the conduct of our country, whatever it does [but] someone who fights every day for the ideals of the country, whatever it takes.” Kamala, pronounced like the punctuation “comma-la,” means “lotus flower.” In India, it is a symbol of significance because a lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom. “We will draw wisdom from every chapter, even when those lessons are hard. We will face what is to come with conviction that change is possible–knowing that truth is like the sun. It always rises.”