“In no other country in the world, could the grandson of a poor farmer from India be asked by the President to look after the health of an entire nation.” -- Dr. Vivek Murthy.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00If life was governed by probability, I would be growing rice, tamarind, and coconuts in
00:07a poor farming village in South India, and I stand before you fully aware that in no
00:13other country in the world could the grandson of a poor farmer from India be asked by the
00:18president to look out for the health of an entire nation.
00:23And that is the power and the promise of America, and I will be forever grateful for it.
01:00Like many of you, my own journey to this stage was a pretty unlikely one.
01:13If life was governed by probability, I would be growing rice, tamarind, and coconuts in
01:19a poor farming village in South India.
01:23I would be just barely scraping together the resources to feed my family and to clothe
01:28them, because that was the life that my grandfather led, and that my father was also destined
01:33to lead.
01:35But the funny thing about dreams is that they take root in unlikely places.
01:42And my father, in the midst of bracing poverty, found himself dreaming of a brighter future
01:47full of opportunity and a land far away.
01:52He was dreaming of America.
01:55And nearly 40 years ago, my parents managed to come to America with little money and few
02:00connections, but with high hopes for the life they could build for themselves and for their
02:04children, my sister and me.
02:07They inspired me to become a doctor through their own care for patients, and they raised
02:13my sister and me to believe that America was a place where your ideas and your willingness
02:18to work hard mattered more than the color of your skin or the sound of your accent or
02:24whether you had a funny-sounding name.
02:28And despite all of our perfections as a nation, I stand before you fully aware that in no
02:33other country in the world could the grandson of a poor farmer from India be asked by the
02:39President to look out for the health of an entire nation.
02:43And that is the power and the promise of America, and I will be forever grateful for it.