State of the Union - my version

If I had been given the opportunity to deliver the State of the Union address tonight, I'd have opened it differently. After acknowledging the passing of Coretta Scott King, I'd have said something like the following.
"Dr. King inspired us all with his vision in the speech titled "I have a dream." Well I too have a dream. I dream of a place where people don't have to fear that someone else is plotting to kill them. A country where people don't feel the need to stockpile defensive weapons at home or to buy security services to protect their home and business. A place where locksmiths have to find new sources of revenue. Where people know and trust their neighbors and look out for each other.
I see a country where everyone demands to be held accountable for what they do or don't do. Where they expect to earn their own way and for others to do likewise. Where compassion is shown to all who are in need and the goal of helping is to return them to self-sufficiency, not to sustain their dependency."
"I see a place where anyone can aspire to any position or goal that benefits mankind. Where opportunity is earned through hard work, smart planning, deserving the trust of others, and listening to the needs and interests of those you would serve. Where public service is honored and decisive action is praised and valued.
Where education in universal values, character building, interpersonal skills, money management, self improvement, physical fitness and good decision making are part of the primary curriculum in public schools.
Where courage is a primary virtue that is cultivated and encouraged. Where divisiveness is publicly repudiated and those who are mean-spirited and selfish become social outcasts. Where the demeaning of others is always met with rejection. Where power is gained through providing value to others in benevolent and ethical ways. Where everyone is expected to become educated despite any limitations to public programs or funding."
I see a country, and for that matter a world, in which life is valued and protected. Where nobody anywhere finds happiness in killing. This world contains conflict and disagreement, of course, but it is dealt with through robust debate and competition rather than deceit and terror. A world where innocents are safe, all the time. Where even those who choose to fight will direct their agression only toward their immediate opponents.
I see a world where we are not cultivating a next generation of evil doers. Where poverty and oppression are immediately and decisively addressed. Where disease and ignorance are the common enemies of everyone. Where no child has to grow up in fear and pain, therefore later seeking retribution.
A place where everyone is allowed to believe in God in their own way and nobody feels the need to control anyone else. A place where goodness is celebrated worldwide and the hard work of achievement is as revered as the fruits it produces.
In short, I see a world and a country that a benevolent God would proudly call home.
We know how to create and sustain such a world. Now let's enlist all the people of the world in the process of doing it.
By the way, it has to begin with you and me. I'm in, are you?