Democracy in the United States is “a work in progress,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech Wednesday, citing the Senate committee report on CIA interrogation programs and the controversy over deaths of African Americans at the hands of police in Ferguson, Mo. and New York City.
“Democracy is not a final destination; it is an endless journey,” he said, “And we see that right here at home.”
“I think America in these recent days has seen this and we own up to it. Even yesterday with the report that came out from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – we hold ourselves accountable to an ugly, horrible period, and we should be proud of our ability to do that,” Kerry said.
“We know well here at home, as I mentioned a moment ago, that democracy is a work in progress. We know that the eyes of the world are on us, and as President Obama made clear in his address to the U.N. General Assembly [last September], we welcome the scrutiny.
“From the streets of New York City to Ferguson, Missouri, we are learning in painful, searing ways that justice and equality are not things that you can just parse out to some and deny to others,” he said.
“And nor can you take for granted that everybody has what you think they have, but what you say is part of your fabric.”
Kerry said as the release of the report on CIA interrogation made clear, “one of America’s strengths is our democratic system’s ability to recognize and wrestle with our own history, acknowledge mistakes, and correct course.”
The speech at the State Department, marking the 20th anniversary of the Summit of the Americas, was one of the first occasions since Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein released the report on which Kerry has had to address the issue even as he speaks on the importance of democratic values elsewhere.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
democracy is not perfect because it allows an 18 old immature youth or a white supremacist to shape the future of this country.