And my grandparents explained that folks in these parts, they didn’t like
show-offs. They didn’t admire braggarts or bullies. They didn’t respect
mean-spiritedness, or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life.
Instead, what they valued were traits like honesty and hard work, kindness,
courtesy, humility, responsibility, helping each other out. That’s what
they believed in. True things. Things that last. The things we try to teach
our kids.
And what my grandparents understood was that these values weren’t limited
to Kansas. They weren’t limited to small towns. These values could travel
to Hawaii. (Applause.) They could travel even to the other side of the
world, where my mother would end up working to help poor women get a better
life; trying to apply those values. My grandparents knew these values weren
’t reserved for one race. They could be passed down to a half-Kenyan
grandson, or a half-Asian granddaughter. In fact, they were the same values
Michelle’s parents, the descendants of slaves, taught their own kids,
living in a bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. (Applause.) They knew
these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that
the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether
they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke, a baseball cap or a hijab. (Applause.)