Sen. Rubio's words inspire

Part 1 of 2

Marco Rubio was elected a senator from the state of Florida in November 2010. Despite his youth and limited experience in national politics, the man can think and speak with extraordinary vision, and inspiring words.

Recently, Sen. Rubio gave his first speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. My son Matthew sent me the YouTube video link earlier today, and it was the most pleasant surprise of my day. I encourage you to watch the video. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iNk_J3kxAY.

I gladly yield my space to him today for some words excerpted from his speech that I hope are as flat-out inspiring to you as they were to me:

“I come from a hard-working and humble family. One that was neither wealthy nor connected. Yet I've always considered myself to be a child of privilege because growing up I was blessed with two very important things.

I was raised by a strong and stable family.

And I was blessed to be born here in the United States of America.

America began from a powerful truth – that our rights as individuals do not come from our government. They come from our God.

Government's job is to protect those rights. And here this Republic has done that better than any government in the history of the world.

America is not perfect. It took a bloody civil war to free over 4 million African Americans who lived enslaved. It took another hundred years after that before they achieved full equality under the law.

But since her earliest days, America has inspired people from all over the world. Inspired them with the hope that one day their own countries would be one like this one.
But it's important to remember that the American dream was never just about how much money you made. It is also about something that typifies my home state of Florida: the desire of every parent to leave their children with a better life.

And it is a dream lived by countless people whose stories will never be told. Americans that never made a million dollars, never owned a yacht, a plane or a second home. And yet, they too lived the American dream – because through their hard work and sacrifice, they were able to open doors for their children that had been closed for them.

It is the story of the people who clean our offices here in this building, who work hard so that one day their children can go to college.

It is the story of the men and women who serve our meals in this building, who work hard so that one day their children can accomplish their own dreams.

It is the story of a bartender and a maid in Florida. Today their son serves here in the Senate, and stands as a proud witness of the greatness of this land.

Becoming a world power was never America's plan. But that's exactly what the American economic miracle made her.

Most great powers have used their strength to conquer. But America's different.
For us, our power always has come with a sense that to those that much is given, much is expected. A sense that with the blessings that God bestowed upon this land, came the responsibility to make the world a better place.

And in the 20th century, that is precisely and exactly what America did.

America led in two world wars so that others could be free.

America led in a Cold War to stop the spread of, and ultimately defeat, communism.

While our military and foreign policy contributions helped save the world, it was our economic and cultural innovations that helped transform it.

The fruits of the American miracle can be found in the daily lives of people everywhere.

Anywhere in the world, when someone uses a mobile phone, email, the Internet or GPS, they are enjoying the benefits of the American miracle.

Anywhere in the world, when a bone marrow, lung or heart transplant saves a life, they are touched by the value of the American miracle.

And on one night in July of 1969, the whole world witnessed the American miracle firsthand.
For on that night an American walked on the surface of the moon, and it was clear to the whole world that these Americans… could do anything.

Clearly, America's rise was not free of adversity.

We faced a civil rights struggle that saw Governors defy Presidents, that saw police dogs attack innocent, peaceful protesters, and that saw little children murdered in churches by bombs.
We faced two oil crises. America faced Watergate. America faced American hostages in Iran.
I grew up in the 1980s, a time when it was morning in America. Yet even then, we faced a war on drugs, we lost soldiers in Beirut and Astronauts on the Challenger. We faced a devastating oil spill in Alaska and a terrifying new disease called AIDS.

Through challenges and triumphs, the 20th century was the American century. A century where America's political, economic and cultural exceptionalism made the world a more prosperous and peaceful place.”

Part 2, dealing with America’s future, follows next week.