Indian-Origin Surgeon’s Inspiring Speech About US

Brut India

“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.

Transcript

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.

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