Saint Madiba's Fall

Rohlihlahla! Rohlihlahla!!

Rohlihlahla!!!

Ululation of elation by the royal

Blood of Thembu

The sun has come at dawn

In the tiny village of Mvezo

Wherein River Mbashe boughs 

Sage dwellers of Mvezo

Foretell it as a herald of redemption 

With chorus voices of "siya namkela nonke"

"Impilo!"                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The sun rises with redeem pledge

Making it to the zenith

Glistening with evermore solemnity

With unrivalled reverence

Beyond every

Wet and dry lands of habitation

A crest of wave attained

The sun ascends the throne of earth

Revivifying chivalry

Scaring away chauvinism

Gospelling gender parity

Re-marrying the separatists

Uniting the cat and the mouse

Calling at

Unique unity

Peerless peace and 

Social solidarity

The sun ascends the throne of the earth

Re-hoping the hopeless

Illuminating the darken souls

Putting smiles on contorted faces

Praying for lives in purgatory

Transmogrifying the transgressors

Recuperating the moribund souls 

Reincarnating the dead

The sun ascends the throne of the earth

An emblem of dove

An epitome of love

A father of fortitude

A replica of solicitude

A paragon of moral exactitude

A template of finest creature

Trouble to sons and daughters of Mvezo land

Distraught summons Royal Thembu

The rising sun objects to settling

But has fallen

Merry to sons and daughters of heaven

The ray of sunshine has refracted

An icon of the apartheid has gone

An eye of the destitute has blinked

Voices chorus dirges of sorrow

Souls bewail in lasting sadness

Hearts stagger in restless pain

Minds wander in hollow despair

Bodies tremble in echoing fear

And lives carry away by tsunami of tears

Man's promisor has come for his due

"Yandei" with its icy cold fingers grip

On the throat

Enervating the flesh and

Bolting with the soul

Without a shred of remorse

Humanly untimely

Divinely timely

Yet in his perpetual absentia

He is still uniting people

And nations

As mundane bulldogs of dissents

Conglomerate

To pay last respect to him

The immortal moral juggernaut has gone too soon

The last man standing has tumbled into the tomb

The prophet of all religions has relinquished the apparition 

The god of peace has gone home

Who is this Adam worthy of the deifying eulogy?

He is the image of God

The only man who ever lived

With a heart

The

Protestant

Prisoner

President

Peacemaker

Patriarch

Preacher

Padiba

Gone late early 

But the virulence of his heroic spirits is

Transcending vast stretches

With no sign of abatement

Padiba

Uhambe kakuhle! 

Abdulai Hanan R. Confidence

Tamale, Ghana

confidencegh@gmail.com

The writer is a professional nurse but with much passion for creative writings, poems and teaching. He teaches maths in a leading private school in Tamale, Faith-Hill. He has authored several poems for publication in the Mirror, Myjoyonline.com et al. He reveres Nelson Madiba Mandela to the apex of his heart and attempts to adopt non-violence and conscience-certified approach to attaining his goals in life. His life like Madiba's is guided and guarded by the aphorism that "the hottest place in hell will be for people who remained neutral or silent in times of moral crises." He says it as it is! His desire is to extricate himself from the shackles of nursing and become a teacher and politician for change by being the change itself.

Expectations!

After reading Charles Dickens' book,  "The Greatest Expectations" I have learnt one great lesson: the lesson of not expecting great things to happen by virtue of what I do at any material moment; lesson of not expecting miracles merely on grounds of people I know or do not know.

So, I can never be disappointed because I don't expect and I will never expect.  I have come to propound a theory for myself: "whatever I do, I do it for myself first" I don't lately even do things with the expectations that God will reward me, no! Such anticipations are very injurious to the well-being of the mind - the reward might not  as well come till the end of time. The human feelings (conscience) is enough a religion to do things right at all times.

The "tres bien" feeling associated with doing good is enough reward not to expect again.

For instance, if I help a friend out of trouble, I am doing it not in anticipation of he getting me out of a possible  trouble in future but in avoidance of I being emotionally mangled by the trouble. Sadness is as contagious as happiness! Ecology explains my point better!

Expectations is like an endless straw ladder. The right to climb to the zenith and fall to nadir is entirely your decision.

If you ever want to expect, then expect the worst. If the worst doesn't happen - consider it a surprise - everyone loves surprises, isn't it?

Shakespeare's said it all when he thought profoundly "Expectation, is the root of all heartaches".

Nobody Did What Anybody Could Have Done!

This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry with that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Attn: WAEC: 2013 BECE ICT Objective Question 27

I crave the attention of West African Examination Council (WAEC) to
Objective Question 27 of ICT of the just ended Basic Education
Certificate Examination. The question reads

Which of the following command buttons is found on the standard toolbar?
A. Bold
B. Bullets
C. Redo
D. Undo.

The question is incorrect or the answer is missing. "Bold" and
"Bullets" are both command buttons on the Formatting Toolbar. "Bold"
comes after "Font Size" whiles "Numbering" precedes "Bullets".

Also, "Redo" and "Undo" are both sandwiched by "Format Painter" and
"Insert Hyperlink" on the Standard Toolbar.

The word processor per the BECE syllabus is Microsoft Office Word
2003. Therefore, the question is incorrect per the GUI of the
application.

I am bringing this to your attention because "just one mark" can
prevent someone from getting grade 1 in any subject.

I hope the said question will be made BONUS in order to avoid denying
innocent pupils from scoring 40/40 in the Objective Test.

Abdulai Hanan R. Confidence

confidencegh@gmail.com

Aphrodisiac Warning: Death of Shame!

Isn’t it shameful to die in an act of sexual intercourse?  I mean an intercourse with someone you aren’t married to or perhaps a prostitute in the corridors of brothel.

I feel uneasy to share this story with you – clearly understanding our tradition’s frown on speaking unwell about the dead. But I think it will serve as a caveat for “aphrodicts” and prospective aphro-users.

Aphrodisiac is being with our cultures for centuries particularly in the jurisdiction of sexuality and sexual matters. Every culture has a tale to tell or a myth to believe in respect to aphrodisiac. So, it shall live on until the end of time.

I can’t fathom why young men lately resort to sex-enhancing drugs.  At this early stage, a young man like you should be able to obtain optimum sexual satisfaction from your natural strength. You don’t need aphrodisiac. You need to practise healthy living and good lifestyle – that’s all and nothing more. What will you use in your old age if you depend religiously on aphrodisiac as a young man? “Eurodisiac” I presume!

With my interaction with few guys, I have realised that the use of the drug is gaining preponderance in alarming proportions. I really don’t know the specificity as in the motivation – but I can’t absolve Moral Bankruptcy, Uncensored Sex Enhancers Ads and Sheer Ignorance.

Over-reliance on the drug will eventually make you powerless and might increase your affinity for it. It may eventually lead to a Rubicon where your sex life is aphrodisiac.

These sex enhancing drugs are insidiously injurious to your health – you might be gradually digging your own grave like the young man in the story I am about to tell you.

Except erectile dysfunction, which Viagra (Blue Pills) is medically endorsed to treat, any other form of medication for sexual virility should be used cautiously or avoided. However, the use of Viagra should be under the prescription and advice of a physician since it can lead to priapism. Priapism is a medical condition where an erect penis, for more than four hours, fails to fall back to its “sober state” in the absence of physical and psychological provocation of eroticism. Other dangerous side effects may be ignited with the use of Viagra.

Premature ejaculation and a multitude of minor sexual deviations are not disorders of grave concern – aphrodisiacs should not be the final antidote but professional psychological orientation. Moreover, de-stressing and effective communication with a partner is aphrodisiac in itself.

Aphrodisiacs are largely vasodilators – drugs containing chemicals that cause the enlargement of blood vessels.

It is observed when the penis is erected; the stripes of “veins” along it become distended or engorged with blood. The blood makes the penis erect until the blood runs back after sexual climax. However, an aphrodisiac extends time of erection for sexual activity due to dilation of the veins along the penis.

However, there is a dear price to pay for continuous abuse/use of aphrodisiac as it probably leads to organic oedema. Oedema is swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities.

Non-cardiogenic (not originating from the heart) pulmonary oedema may result from aphrodisiac use. An increased circulating blood volume will lead to increase in pulmonary circulation (circulation between the heart and lungs), increase in hydrostatic pressure (pressure of fluid at rest) in the pulmonary capillaries and then oedema.

Pulmonary oedema is the accumulation of fluid in the parenchyma and airspace of the lungs thereby impairing gas exchange leading to fierce and dire consequences. In the absence of readily medical attention, the sufferer may die of poor oxygenation of vital organs.

Aphrodisiac may present life-threatening signs and symptoms in asthma and hypertension. It can also react dangerously with over-the-counter drugs on flu, cough et cetera. Even your diet could aggravate aphrodisiac.

Some foods are believed to have aphrodisiac effect: chocolates, apples, oyster, strawberries, avocados and those you know. Science may attempt to obfuscate you with incomprehensible technicalities and lexicons: tryptophan, stimulants, dopamine system and many others. Some fragrance like vanilla rose and jasmine are implicated as having aphrodisiac effect.  The debate on aphrodisiac has not been conclusive scientifically.

Logically, if you return from work with an apple for your partner, she will probable feel tuned up than if you bring her oranges (may be sour one). Of course, sex will be more pleasurable in sweet scented ambience than a stench-filled atmosphere. The two biggest physical enemies of sex are being tired and being full. So, better sex is all about the mind.

Jennifer Bass, a spokesperson for the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University in Bloomington said, “It’s important to know—when it comes to everything from food to pharmaceuticals that are used for sexual attraction and arousal—you always have to factor in a large placebo effect.”

It is time you put an end to aphrodisiac before it put an end to you. If you are a player, never try to maximise your daily performance on your numerous sex partners by relying on it. When you are visiting the brothel, don’t try to double your money worth by abusing the drug. If you don’t have a full medical profile of yourself, you may advise yourself against aphrodisiac.

I will reserve the story however, for another day but my advice is “The Powerful Aphrodisiac is Your Mind!”


Abdulai Hanan R. Confidence

confidencegh@gmail.com

I Am My Mother

Poem: I Am My Mother!

But for my mother

I would have been a tailor

That was the final decision

The man of the house has spoken

But my mother defied the order

An order she needed not only emotional strength

But huge financial commitment to sustain

I look on helplessly with the thug of war

Between husband and wife

A faint-hearted man awashed in pessimism

Versus a lioness-hearted woman of unseen hopes

It was a melodrama of a family at loggerheads

A sweet sorrow tale of once upon a crossroad

A near battle of supremacy of who dictates the tune

For an innocent son of prideful determination to excel

A family which status quo was redefined by a mishap  

Time flies

Soaring my dreams beyond visibility

My hope dwindles

My opportunity keeps drifting further apart

My brain produces zilch then

I thought pessimism had overcome my omega hope

Yet I appease myself with adage of have-nots

“Where there is life there is hope”

One day

The sun felt reluctant to smile

A perfect weather to sleep off my unending worries

There comes a gentle knock on my door

With a strong voice of

Mama is calling

Before the messenger had return to the sender

The called was already there

I stepped into the woman’s room

And the ambience was different

It was as hollow as hole

The glitters were conspicuously missing

I need not to be told

A glaring symbolism of a strong woman

Desire to educate her only first son

She chose my future over her valuables

I was suddenly manhandle by emotions

Emotions drifting ubiquitously and violently in me

I try to avoid her eyes

As I bear my head down in a stormy rain of tears

Sobbing gratefully  

My heart truly full of thankfulness

She had no reason to cry

Even though the clouds were imminent on

Her red eyes

“Naawuni deema a suhugu” was all I could murmur

My dream of going to school was reborn

Vim “yaa zo”

But with heavy uneasy heart

I breathe in happiness with pain

Breathe out sadness with joy

I prostrate in veneration

To God for giving me such a solid rock

To lean on

God bless Mma Nafisah for

My mother is I

I am my mother

Abdulai Hanan R. Confidence

confidencegh@gmail.com

                                            

The author is now a nurse, politician, teacher and feminist of principle. A strong believer of positive discrimination that sort to catapult women to the higher pedestal of all human endeavour. The author is a propounder of “Confidence’s Overambitious Theory of Feminine Capability.”  This theory puts forward scientific cogent arguments and observations about a situation in the near future where men will take over the kitchen. Women will be the smart and industrious force working to provide livelihood for their families.

Angel Mama

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak"

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked;

"God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, 'Mom'

Pork: Scriptures, Symbolisms and Sicknesses!

The baseline is not how swines are being kept under strictly hygienic conditions in other parts of the world. The baseline is

1. What do the major Scriptures say about swines?

2. The symbolic representation of swines in the society. How the swine does behave on its own?

3. What are the practical risks of consuming pork?

SCRIPTURES

The Bible:

“And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.” [Deuteronomy 14:8]

2. I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; 3. A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; 4. Who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs;  Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; [Isaiah 65:2-4]

"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and of their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you." Leviticus 11:7-8 KJV

The Quran:

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked a name other than that of Allah. [Al-Qur’an 5:3] The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.

The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. Its prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

SYMBOLISMS

The pig is a symbol of filth, greed and idiocy. It eats faeces and dead bodies, snouts gutter water, wallows in sheer sordidness and a shameless animal which will invite its mate for sex bout. Pork consuming friends and families do share wives as well. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" has a better symbolic representation of pigs (swines).

SICKNESSES

As a Science student I am wary that most farm animals are carriers/hosts/vectors of varying pathogens, parasites and diseases. Even beef, the widely untaboo meat is a good carrier of the deadly anthrax and tape worm. However, the pig is guilty of most known, unknown and emerging disease-causing processes.

99% of helminthiasis, worms infestations is caused by pork (you can debate me on that) including round worms (Ascaris), pinworms, hookworm and the most dangerous Taenia solinum (a type of tape worm).  Even, well cooked pork still carries viable worms that are injurious to the system. Eight out of ten is likely to be infested after consuming well-cooked pork.

Taenia solinum for instance has the destructive capability to migrate to any organ in the body:

·         In the brain, you lose your memory,

·         Blindness at the eyes,

·         Deadly at liver (the liver is the most important organ in the body with over 500 known functions),

·         In the heart, you can be rest assured of cardiovascular torments

The emergence of Swine flu was rippling and deadly and nearly almost half of the world’s pig population was decimated. According to the Pet Doc Chart of zoonotic diseases, the diseases from pigs are nearly double of that of goats, sheep and cattle combined.

Pork has large amounts of saturated lipids (fats). Every health science student understands that most heart, blood, blood-vessel diseases are importantly caused by animal fat. Notably among these diseases include hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke and heart attack.

In countries where religion is practised like democracy with little or no food taboos, there is high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. More than 50% percent of Americans have hypertension, the commonest cardiovascular disease. The CDC and America Heart Association have related this phenomenon to unrestrained consumption of “High-fat cuts of meat”. As a matter of fact, pork is richly generous with fat – no other meat can challenge pork in terms of fat.

Let's stop the needless diplomacy over pork and other technical jargons that sought to justify pork. This afore-expatiated trinity is enough of a reason!

Just trying to help you choose a healthy meat for your meals!

Abdulai Hanan R. Confidence

confidencegh@gmail.com

P W Botha: The Black People are Inferior

The following is a speech made by former South African President P.W. Botha to his Cabinet. This reprint was written by David G. Mailu for the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, dated August 18, 1985.

"Pretoria has been made by the White mind for the White man. We are not obliged even the least to try to prove to anybody and to the Blacks that we are superior people. We have demonstrated that to the Blacks in a thousand and one ways. The Republic of South Africa that we know of today has not been created by wishful thinking. We have created it at the expense of intelligence, sweat and blood. Were they Afrikaners who tried to eliminate the Australian Aborigines? Are they Afrikaners who discriminate against Blacks and call them Nigge*rs in the States? Were they Afrikaners who started the slave trade? Where is the Black man appreciated? England discriminates against its Black and their "Sus" law is out to discipline the Blacks. Canada, France, Russia, and Japan all play their discrimination too. Why in the hell then is so much noise made about us? Why are they biased against us? I am simply trying to prove to you all that there is nothing unusual we are doing that the so called civilized worlds are not doing. We are simply an honest people who have come out aloud with a clear philosophy of how we want to live our own White life.

We do not pretend like other Whites that we like Blacks. The fact that, Blacks look like human beings and act like human beings do not necessarily make them sensible human beings. Hedgehogs are not porcupines and lizards are not crocodiles simply because they look alike. If God wanted us to be equal to the Blacks, he would have created us all of a uniform colour and intellect. But he created us differently: Whites, Blacks, Yellow, Rulers and the ruled. Intellectually, we are superior to the Blacks; that has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the years.

I believe that the Afrikaner is an honest, God fearing person, who has demonstrated practically the right way of being. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that behind the scenes, Europe, America, Canada, Australia -and all others are behind us in spite of what they say. For diplomatic relations, we all know what language should be used and where. To prove my point, Comrades, does anyone of you know a White country without an investment or interest in South Africa? Who buys our gold? Who buys our diamonds? Who trades with us? Who is helping us develop other nuclear weapon? The very truth is that we are their people and they are our people. It's a big secret. The strength of our economy is backed by America, Britain, and Germany. It is our strong conviction, therefore, that the Black is the raw material for the White man. So Brothers and Sisters, let us join hands together to fight against this Black devil. I appeal to all Afrikaners to come out with any creative means of fighting this war. Surely God cannot forsake his own people whom we are. By now every one of us has seen it practically that the Blacks cannot rule themselves. Give them guns and they will kill each other. They are good in nothing else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives and indulging in sex. Let us all accept that the Black man is the symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence. Isn't it plausible, therefore that the White man is created to rule the Black man? Come to think of what would happen one day if you woke up and on the throne sat a Kaff*ir! Can you imagine what would happen to our women? Does anyone of you believe that the Blacks can rule this country?

Hence, we have good reasons to let them all-the Mandelas-rot in prison, and I think we should be commended for having kept them alive in spite of what we have at hand with which to finish them off. I wish to announce a number of new strategies that should be put to use to destroy this Black bug. We should now make use of the chemical weapon. Priority number one, we should not by all means allow any more increases of the Black population lest we be choked very soon. I have exciting news that our scientists have come with an efficient stuff. I am sending out more researchers to the field to identify as many venues as possible where the chemical weapons could be employed to combat any further population increases. The hospital is a very strategic opening, for example and should be fully utilized. The food supply channel should be used. We have developed excellent slow killing poisons and fertility destroyers. Our only fear is in case such stuff came in to their hands as they are bound to start using it against us if you care to think of the many Blacks working for us in our houses.

However, we are doing the best we can to make sure that the stuff remains strictly in our hands. Secondly, most Blacks are vulnerable to money inducements. I have set aside a special fund to exploit this venue. The old trick of divide and rule is still very valid today. Our experts should work day and night to set the Black man against his fellowman. His inferior sense of morals can be exploited beautifully. And here is a creature that lacks foresight. There is a need for us to combat him in long term projections that he cannot suspect. The average Black does not plan his life beyond a year: that stance, for example, should be exploited. My special department is already working round the clock to come out with a long-term operation blueprint. I am also sending a special request to all Afrikaner mothers to double their birth rate. It may be necessary too to set up a population boom industry by putting up centres where we employ and support fully White young men and women to produce children for the nation. We are also investigating the merit of uterus rentals as a possible means of speeding up the growth of our population through surrogate mothers.

For the time being, we should also engage a higher gear to make sure that Black men are separated from their women and fines imposed upon married wives who bear illegitimate children. I have a committee working on finding better methods of inciting Blacks against each other and encouraging murders among themselves. Murder cases among Blacks should bear very little punishment in order to encourage them.

My scientists have come up with a drug that could be smuggled into their brews to effect slow poisoning results and fertility destruction. Working through drinks and manufacturing of soft drinks geared to the Blacks, could promote the channels of reducing their population. Ours is not a war that we can use the atomic bomb to destroy the Blacks, so we must use our intelligence to affect this. The person-to-person encounter can be very effective.

As the records show that the Black man is dying to go to bed with the White woman, here is our unique opportunity. Our Sex Mercenary Squad should go out and camouflage with Apartheid Fighters while doing their operations quietly administering slow killing poison and fertility destroyers to those Blacks they thus befriend. We are modifying the Sex Mercenary Squad by introducing White men who should go for the militant Black woman and any other vulnerable Black woman. We have received a new supply of Love Peddlers from Europe and America who are desperate and too keen to take up the appointments.

My latest appeal is that the maternity hospital operations should be intensified. We are not paying those people to help bring Black babies to this world but to eliminate them on the very delivery moment. If this department worked very efficiently, a great deal could be achieved.

My Government has set aside a special fund for erecting more covert hospitals and clinics to promote this programme. Money can do anything for you. So while we have it, we should make the best use of it. In the meantime my beloved White citizens, do not take to heart what the world says, and don't be ashamed of being called racists. I do not mind being called the architect and King of Apartheid. I shall not become a monkey simply because someone has called me a monkey. I will still remain your bright star,

His Excellency Botha

Barack Obama's Victory Speech 2012

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. (Sustained cheers, applause.)

Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. (Cheers, applause.)

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. (Cheers, applause.)

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.

(Cheers, applause.) I want to thank every American who participated in this election. (Cheers, applause.) Whether you voted for the very first time (cheers) or waited in line for a very long time (cheers) – by the way, we have to fix that – (cheers, applause) – whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone (cheers, applause), whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference. (Cheers, applause.)

I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. (Cheers, applause.) We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service. And that is a legacy that we honour and applaud tonight. (Cheers, applause.) In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.

(Cheers, applause.)

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice-president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden. (Cheers, applause.)

And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. (Cheers, applause.) Let me say this publicly. Michelle, I have never loved you more. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you too as our nation's first lady. (Cheers, applause.)

Sasha and Malia – (cheers, applause) – before our very eyes, you're growing up to become two strong, smart, beautiful young women, just like your mom. (Cheers, applause.) And I am so proud of you guys. But I will say that, for now, one dog's probably enough. (Laughter.)

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics – (cheers, applause) – the best – the best ever – (cheers, applause) – some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning.

(Cheers, applause.) But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together. (Cheers, applause.) And you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way – (cheers, applause) – to every hill, to every valley. (Cheers, applause.) You lifted me up the whole day, and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you've put in. (Cheers, applause.)

I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics who tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym or – or saw folks working late at a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else.

You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organiser who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. (Cheers, applause.)

You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. (Cheers, applause.)

That's why we do this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won't change after tonight. And it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty, and we can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter – (cheers, applause) – the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future.

We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers – (cheers, applause) – a country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation – (scattered cheers, applause) – with all of the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened up by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. (Cheers, applause.)

We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on Earth and the best troops this – this world has ever known – (cheers, applause) – but also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.

We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag – (cheers, applause) – to the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner – (cheers, applause) – to the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president.

That's the – (cheers, applause) – that's the future we hope for.

(Cheers, applause.) That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go – forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's where we need to go. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock, resolve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward.

But that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. (Cheers, applause.) A long campaign is now over. (Cheers, applause.) And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you. And you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. (Cheers, applause.)

Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. (Cheers, applause.) You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.

And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together – reducing our deficit, reforming our tax code, fixing our immigration system, freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do. (Cheers, applause.)

But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizens in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us; it's about what can be done by us together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. (Cheers, applause.) That's the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared – (cheers, applause) – that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, so that the freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great. (Cheers, applause.)

I am hopeful tonight because I have seen this spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbours and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb and in those Seals who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back. (Cheers, applause.) I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. (Cheers, applause.)

And I saw it just the other day in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his eight-year-old daughter whose long battle with leukaemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for healthcare reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. (Cheers, applause.) I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd, listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes because we knew that little girl could be our own.

And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president. (Cheers, applause.)

And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope.

[Audience member: "We got your back, Mr President!"]

I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the road blocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight. I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. (Cheers, applause.)

America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunities and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founding, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, abled, disabled, gay or straight. (Cheers, applause.) You can make it here in America if you're willing to try.

(Cheers, applause.)

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

And together, with your help and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, America. (Cheers, applause.) God bless you. God bless these United States. (Cheers, applause.)