Obama’s Message to Poland: ‘Governments Exist to Lift Up Their People’

‘This is the new Poland you have built’

Obama: 'Governments Exist to Lift Up Their People' (CNS News)

Hailing Poland's embrace of democracy on Wednesday, President Obama offered his view of government's central role in the lives of all people.

"Here in Poland we see a vibrant press and a growing civil society that holds leaders accountable -- because governments exist to lift up their people, not to hold them down," Obama said to applause.

The president also wove his "fair shot" agenda into the speech he delivered in Warsaw:

"Our democracies must be defined, not by what or who we're against, but by a politics of inclusion and tolerance that welcomes all our citizens. Our economies must deliver a broader prosperity that creates more opportunity -- across Europe and across the world -- especially for young people. Leaders must uphold the public trust and stand against corruption, not steal from the pockets of their own people.

"Our societies must embrace a greater justice that recognizes the inherent dignity of every human being," Obama continued, as he called for a Europe that is "whole and free and at peace."

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