Seeking to unite the country behind him four weeks before the November 3 presidential poll, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday said there is no place for hate in America and the country can have both law and order and racial justice. There is no place for hate in America. It will be given no licence; it will be given no oxygen; it will be given no safe harbour, said Biden (77) during a speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where former US president Abraham Lincoln had delivered a historic speech in 1863.

Biden, who has widened his lead over President Donald Trump by double digits in the national polls, said in recent months, the country has been riled by instances of excessive police force, heart-wrenching cases of racial injustice with lives lost needlessly and senselessly. Stressing that this can’t be tolerated, Biden said, It’s a product of a history that goes back 400 years to the moment when black men, women, and children first were brought here in chains. I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America. We can have both, Biden said. The former US Vice President said the nation can honestly face systemic racism and is strong enough to provide safe streets to families and small businesses. We have no need for armed militias roaming America’s streets and we should have no tolerance for extremist white supremacy groups menacing our communities, he said.

America today, he said, needs a leadership that seeks to deescalate tensions, to open lines of communication, to bring people together. To heal. To hope. As president, that’s precisely what I will do. We paid a high price for allowing the deep divisions in this country to impact on how we deal with coronavirus. 210,000 Americans dead and the number is climbing. It’s estimated that nearly another 210,000 Americans could lose their lives by the end of the year. Enough. No more. Let’s just set partisanship aside. Let’s end the politics and follow the science, he said.

Urging his countrymen to go out and vote, Biden asked people to conduct themselves as Americans who love each other; who love the country; and who will not destroy but will build. We owe it to the dead who are buried here at Gettysburg. We owe that to the living and to future generations yet to be born, Biden stressed. You and I are part of a covenant, a common story of divisions over come and hope renewed. If we do our part, if we stand together, if we keep faith with the past and with each other then the divisions of our time will give way to the dreams of a brighter and better future, he said. This is our work. This is our pledge. This is our mission. We can end this era of division. We can in the hate and the fear, we can be what we are at our best, the United States of America, said the former vice president.

Also Read

: Trump stops negotiations with House Democrats on coronavirus stimulus

In his speech, Biden said the divisions today are longstanding, economic and racial inequities have shaped them for generations. But I give you my word. if I’m elected president, I will marshal the ingenuity and goodwill of this nation to turn division into unity and bring us together because I think people are looking for that, he said. We can disagree about how we move forward. We must take the first steps and it starts with how we treat one another, how we talk to one another, how we respect one another, Biden added.

First Published:Oct 7, 2020 8:21 AM IST