Ken Burns

And that we yearn nonetheless for that kind of transformation that takes place in our lives.

And as Americans, those of us fortunate enough to be Americans, with all the problems that are attendant to that statement,

we have this glorious past that has the ability to take us out of that stupor, that take us out of that rut to be able to say, and with the exception of the film on Leonardo, the 40 or so films that I've done, some of them are hour long, some of them are 20 hours long, are all about us, right?

All about us.

And the thing that I was describing about the U.S.

and us is that I realize that

There's only us.

There's no them.

All of our world is about them, of creating a them, the artificiality that despots or autocrats always have to make of them.

There's got to be an enemy out there in order to do that.

There's only us.

And the important obligation that we have is to tell our stories to everybody.

That is to say, I do not wish to preach to the congregation, whatever my congregation is.

I do not wish to preach to the choir.

I wish to say...

We have an extraordinary country.

I mean, I'm interested in its voices, I realize.

I'm interested in its complicated voices, the true, honest, complicated voices of American history that's unafraid of controversy and tragedy.

but equally drawn to those stories and moments that suggest an abiding faith in the human spirit.

And particularly the remarkable role this republic plays in the positive progress of mankind.