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Transcription: [00:24:57]
{SPEAKER name="James Baldwin"}

When the word democracy is taken to mean, is taken to be a synonym for, mediocrity.

[00:25:04]

When the trust of a society is not to raise, all of its members to the highest, possible level.

[00:25:13]

But on the contrary, to reduce, such members as aspire to excellence, down to the lowest common denominator.

[00:25:24]

We have begun to see, what happens when a country confuses its politics, with a popularity contest.

[00:25:34]

We have begun to see, that the grasp of reality which I'd say we do not have, is what endangers us far more than Khrushchev and far more than Castro.

[00:25:45]

In the world, that what we do not know, about our black citizens, is what we do not know, about ourselves.

[00:25:58]

And what we do not know about ourselves, is what we do not know about the world, and the world knows it.

[00:26:08]

Nothing can save us ( -- ) not all our money, nor all our bombs, nor all our guns,

[00:26:17]
if we cannot, achieve,

[00:26:22]
a long, long, long delayed maturity.

[00:26:25]

Thank you

[00:26:28]
[[Applause]]

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