American Rhetoric: Barack Obama -- 2004 Democratic National Convention Address John Kerry believes in America. And he knows that it�s not enough for just some of us to prosper -- for alongside our famous individualism, there�s another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we�re all connected as one people. If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can�t read, that matters to me, even if it�s not my child. If there is a senior citizen somewhere who can�t pay for their prescription drugs, and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it�s not my grandparent. If there�s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief -- It is that fundamental belief: I am my brother�s keeper. I am my sister�s keeper that makes this country work. It�s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family. E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one."