Michelle Obama: Barack and I Welcome Criticism from the Media

‘Because time and again we have seen that countries are stronger and more prosperous when voices and opinions of all their citizens can be heard’

Michelle Obama: Barack and I Welcome Criticism from the Media (RealClearPolitics)

MICHELLE OBAMA: That's why it's so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the internet and through the media, because that's how we discover the truth. That's how we learn what's really happening in our communities in our country and our world. And that's how we decide which values and ideas we think are best--by questioning and debating them vigorously--by listening to all sides of an argument and by judging for ourselves.

My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens and its not always easy, but we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, because time and again we have seen that countries are stronger and more prosperous when voices and opinions of all their citizens can be heard. And as my husband has said, 'We respect the uniqueness of other cultures and societies but when it comes to expressing yourself freely and worshiping as you choose and having open access to information. We believe those universal rights--they are universal rights that are the birth right of every person on this planet.'

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact