Ben Anderson

I know a lot of you have spent the last two years angry. Some of you have been scared. I've certainly felt both. Fear is what they've been selling. Fear of your neighbor. Fear of the family who doesn't look like you or pray like you. Fear that nothing you do matters, so you might as well stay home. But I want to tell you something about that anger you've been carrying. You don't get angry about something you've given up on. You don’t speak up unless you believe your voice could matter. You don’t protest unless you think someone might listen. You don’t show up unless some part of you still believes this place is worth fighting for. That anger was hope the whole time. Anger doesn’t exist without hope. And hope is a powerful and effective tool. It looks at the way things are, imagines something better, and acts like it's already on the way. Last night, we saw what it does when you put it to work. Fear tells you to lock the door and keep your head down. Hope tells you to open it. This district opened the door. And I promise you, I won't let that hope go to waste.