'Standing Together Is How We Win': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls On Voters To 'Build Community'

4 days ago

At a 'Fight Oligarchy' event in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about building community.

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Transcript

00:00Beyond elections, our task is to build community.

00:10Block associations, neighborhood groups, volunteer groups, church organizations, PTAs.

00:18Community is the tissue and the infrastructure for us to win.

00:24Standing together is how we win.

00:34Because community is the most powerful building block we have to defeat authoritarianism and

00:40root out corruption.

00:42It's not a mistake that all of this backsliding is happening after COVID when we were isolated

00:47and apart, but then after that, they tried to keep us isolated and apart.

00:54Because when you don't know your neighbor, it's easier to turn against them.

00:58So that's why what you do matters.

01:01Showing up to the community board matters.

01:04Showing up in person matters.

01:07Because it becomes so much harder to hate someone you know.

01:12That is our mission.

01:14Don't think it's too small.

01:15There is no act too small in the next couple years.

01:19So I'll end where I began.

01:22We might all come from different places, Tucson, but we share a lot of the same experiences.

01:29So to all those who came here today unsure of whether this is where you belong, I want

01:35to say that you do.

01:39And truly, if you're here today giving this a shot for the first time, I want to let you

01:47know no matter who you voted for in the past, no matter if you know all the right words

01:52to say, no matter your race, religion, gender identity, or status, no matter if you're a

02:00dreamer or a U.S. citizen, no matter if you disagree with me on some things, if you are

02:08willing to fight for someone you don't know, you are welcome here.

02:13If you're willing to fight for working people regardless of who they are, how they identify,

02:18or where they come from, you are welcome here.

02:21Because here, everyone is valued.

02:25But I will say this.

02:27To those leaders on either side of the aisle who are willing to put their fellow Americans

02:33down so that they can get ahead or feel better about themselves, those folks might best find

02:39a home somewhere else.

02:42Because in this house, we stand together.

02:45Because here, we know that together, without exception, is the only way that we can win.

02:52I hope you see that this movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests, but it's

02:58about class solidarity.

03:03It's about the thousands of you who came out today to stand together and say our lives

03:09deserve dignity and our work deserves respect, no matter who we are or where we come from.

03:17We are here today to make a sacred promise to each other.

03:24Because our goal is not just to come together, share a few inspiring words, and then go back

03:28to how things were.

03:30We can't go back to how things were.

03:33Our goal today is to commit to building the kind of country we all deserve.

03:40So I want you all to look around.

03:44These are your brethren for the fight for our future.

03:49And I want you to look around, and if I can offer one assignment before we all depart

03:55here today, it is to leave this place connected to a new person you didn't know coming into

04:02this place.

04:04And I want you to turn to the people around you and greet someone you don't know.

04:18This is my favorite part.

04:24Now that we've done that, we're here to again make that promise.

04:34To take care of each other on our worst days and to share in the successes of our best.

04:41Thank you, Tucson.

04:43It's my honor today to introduce someone who has spent his life bringing us together.

04:53Someone who has given voice to the future that we deserve.

04:56Please welcome Senator Bernie Sanders.

'Standing Together Is How We Win': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls On Voters To 'Build Community'

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