We are being bombarded with negative ads designed to appeal to the worst in all of us -- to our fear.
But the reality is that millions of Americans engaged in this election have the courage of hope, and they are willing to work hard to keep that message alive beyond November 4.
These portraits were taken in the chaotic heart of the Colorado Convention Center during the Democratic National Convention. They reveal the faces of people who know that hope is much harder to hold onto than fear. They are people with the courage and the temerity to keep hoping. You will find here the face of a young man who swam to freedom across the Mekong River in Laos, a woman who was among the first to desegregate the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a man who earned a Purple Heart in the Korean War, and a high school teacher who traveled to the DNC because Barack Obama's campaign inspired her inner-city students to aspire. Some faces you will recognize -- John Lewis, Moby, Kerry Washington (below). Many you have not yet heard of. Yet. What they share is a deep humanity that transcends any one demographic characteristic.
This campaign makes clear that we can no longer be defined by our race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender. It is now up to voters to demonstrate that we will not be pigeon-holed by fear and divisiveness.