Philadelphia: Highlighting the sharp contrast between her vision for the US and that of Donald Trump, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has said the country’s “core values” were at stake in the polls as she urged people to vote for an “inclusive” and “big-hearted” America.
“We don’t have to accept a dark and divisive vision for America. Tomorrow you can vote for a hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America. Our core values are being tested in this election,” the 69-year-old former secretary of state told thousands of people at the historic Independence Mall here.
“We know who my opponent is and the question is? What kind of country do we want to be and what kind of future we want to build for our children,” Clinton said as she narrated the story of Pakistani-American Khizr Khan, father of an American soldier who died in Iraq in a terrorist attack.
Clinton highlighted that at the Democratic Convention this summer, Khan spoke powerfully about what America means to him and how Americans have to defend their values and their Constitution that are the envy of the rest of the world.
“People look at us with yearning. They see that we are a beacon of freedom, hope and opportunity for people, right here, at home,” she said amidst applause from the audience.
Khan has emerged as a rallying point for Americans in particular the minority community after he delivered an impressive speech at the Democratic National Convention here in July in which he challenged the values and policies of Republican nominee Trump.
“When I heard Mr Khan speak at the convention, and I heard him again last night, I was so touched because what he said exhibited a love of our country,” Clinton said.
“He said that when he started hearing Donald Trump speak, and all of the things he said about so many people, not only Muslims but African-Americans and Latinos and PoWs and women and so many people — when he heard it he couldn’t help but think as he walked around his house — he has a room where his son’s medals — he got the Bronze Star, he got the Purple Heart — the flag that was draped on his coffin — is respectfully presented in the box that he was given it in,” she said.
“And he thought to himself, ‘Would there be any room for my son in Donald Trump’s America?’ It is an important question for all of us. We do not want to shrink the vision of the great country. We want to keep expanding it, so that everybody has a place to pursue the dreams and aspirations and the future,” she said amidst applause from the audience.
Clinton urged her countrymen to think about that when they go to the polls and how generations have come to meet the test of their time. .
PTI
