Loretta Lynch

The world needs champions. Too many people still find the path to opportunity closed to them. Too many still find unnecessary obstacles to education, to housing, to the full and free exercise of the right to vote.

The answer is never violence. Rather, the answer, our answer, all our answer must be action. Calm, peaceful, collaborative and determined action.

In 2007, Michael Grimm, former Marine, former FBI agent, accountant and attorney, was poised for success as a small business owner. Instead, as alleged, Grimm made the choice to go from upholding the law to breaking it. In so doing, he turned his back on every oath he had ever taken.

My view is that we cannot be ruled by fear. When we do that, we are not making ourselves see. We are not thinking things through. We are not looking at what works.

No matter who we are or where we live, we all share a basic concern for the safety and well-being of our young people. Their welfare is the most telling measure of our nation's success - and their potential is the most promising element of its future. It is up to us - all of us - to safeguard that future.

Certainly, by providing individuals coming out of institutions with ways to become productive citizens, we reduce recidivism. What that means is we reduce crime. There are fewer victims when individuals have options - when they have job skills, when they have life skills, we break the cycle of children following their parents into institutions.

Building trust between law enforcement officers and the communities we serve is one of my highest priorities as attorney general.

The American people must be able to trust that their courts and law enforcement will uphold, protect, and defend their constitutional rights.

I find that people want aggressive policing if they as a community feel they are part of it. They don't want aggressive policing if they feel it's being imposed upon them and they are a target.

Voting is how we participate in a civic society - be it for president, be it for a municipal election. It's the way we teach our children - in school elections - how to be citizens, and the importance of their voice.

Houses of worship can be the heart of a community. They can be the cradle of a family. They can be places where our children go to learn, not just faith, but to make friends. They build connections. They are essential to a healthy America. And every community deserves the right to have those houses of worship operate in safety and peace.

We must reflect on the kind of country that we want to build and the kind of society which we are choosing to pass on to our children.