Samuel --

Over the course of my time on the national stage, a lot has been said about the fact that a guy with a name like Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President of the United States. And over the years, because of my background, I've heard questions about my religion, my place of birth, even whether or not I love this country.

I always dismissed that kind of talk, but I've also learned to listen closely when a conversation starts to lean on fear and ignorance.

So I pay attention when I hear the Republican frontrunner for president call for a ban on Muslims entering this country. And when their other candidates say we should only admit Christian refugees, not Muslims, or that there should be a religious test to determine which people fleeing a war-torn country can enter ours.

Samuel, that's not who we are.

While just about every nation in the world opens their doors to immigrants, in America we understand that a facet of our national identity stems from the fact that we are a country born of immigrants. It's part of what makes us exceptional. We celebrate this heritage, as an immigrant nation, but also recognize that we haven't always lived up to our own ideals. There have been times in our history when we have not been as welcoming or tolerant as we should have been.

And Samuel, I want to make sure that we don't allow today to be another one of those chapters in American history that we look back on knowing that we could have done better. If you agree, pitch in $3 or whatever you can to help elect leaders who will move us forward by ensuring we never lead from a place of fear and divisiveness.

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This week, many of us will hear a familiar story about a young couple in a foreign city, just looking for a place to stay for the night, and being told over and over again that there is no room for them. And I hope in the spirit of this holiday, we'll take the time to think about how we can come together and live up to the founding ideals of this country.

Thank you, and safe and happy holidays to you and your family.

Barack Obama


 

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