'We are going to be all right': Tom Hanks delivers the speech we wish our politicians could make
- Amid the social unrest following Donald Trump's election, Tom Hanks has reassured everyone that 'we are going to be all right'
- Hanks delivered a speech on Tuesday in which he addressed Americans' concerns following the election
- Hanks sang Schoolhouse Rock and referenced Bruce Springsteen to help people understand the country will move forward
- He made his remarks during the Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit presented by Chanel in New York that paid tribute to his career
Amid the social unrest following Donald Trump's election, actor Tom Hanks has reassured everyone that 'we are going to be all right.'
During a tribute to his career on Tuesday night, Hanks used the occasion to address Americans' concerns following the election in a stirring 10-minute speech.
The 60-year-old star sang Schoolhouse Rock and even quoted Bruce Springsteen as he encouraged the country to move forward, Fox News reported, reported.
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Amid the social unrest following Donald Trump's election, actor Tom Hanks reassured everyone that 'we are going to be all right' on Tuesday night at Museum of Modern Art's film benefit paying tribute to Hanks' career
Hanks made his remarks during the Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit in New York City on Tuesday presented by Chanel that paid tribute to Hanks and his career
'We are going to be all right. America has been in worse places than we are at right now,' Hanks said during New York City’s Museum of Modern Art's ninth annual film benefit presented by Chanel.
'In my own lifetime our streets were in chaos, our generations were fighting each other tooth and nail, and every dinner table ended up being as close to a fist fight as human families will allow.
'We have been in a place where we have looked at our leaders and wondered what the hell they were thinking of.'
'We've had moments with the administrations and politicians and senators and governors in which we have we've asked ourselves "Are they lying to us or do they really believe in this?" That's all right,' he continued.
The actor, who publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, referenced the US Constitution and described it as a 'magnificent document' before briefly breaking out in song.
Hanks used the occasion to address Americans' concerns following the election in a stirring 10-minute speech
Donald Trump was elected America's 45th president in an stunning victory last week that has led to social unrest across the country with people protesting his election
'It's a magnificent document and it starts off with these phrases that if you're smart enough you've memorized in school or you just read enough so that you know it by heart.
'Or you watched those little things on ABC where they taught you little songs in order to sing, and the song goes (singing): "We the people/in order to form a more perfect union/established to ensure domestic tranquility/to provide for the common defense/promote the general welfare," and you go on and on.'
Hanks said the Constitution 'is going to protect us over and over again whether or not our neighbors preserve, protect, and defend it themselves.'
He continued, adding that Americans are going to be all right because 'we constantly tell the world who we are' and 'define ourselves as Americans.'
'We have the greatest country in the world because we are always moving towards a more perfect union,' he said.
'That journey never ceases, it never stops. Sometimes, to quote a Bruce Springsteen song, it's one step forward two steps back, but we still aggregately move forward.'
Hanks made his remarks in front of a star-studded crowd that included actresses Emma Watson and Meg Ryan, actor Steve Martin, director Steven Spielberg and media mogul Rupert Murdoch
TV host David Letterman, singer Leon Bridges, businesswoman Marie Josee Kravis, Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson and businessman Henry R. Kravis are pictured above
Hanks pictured with his wife, actress Rita Wilson, during the special night on Tuesday
And for those who 'are a week into wondering what the hell just happened', they will have to choose to move forward, he said.
Hanks then briefly addressed Michael Moore's suggestion that he should run for president in 2020.
'Not to be completely, overtly over it, but coming back to the same thing that I would like to strangle Michael Moore about, for offering my name in order to be something other than a CPA, which I’m not qualified to be either,' he said.
'We will take everything that has been handed to us as Americans and we will turn our nation and we will turn the future and we will turn all the work that we have in before us into some grand thing of beauty,' Hanks said to a standing ovation.
He made his remarks in front of a star-studded crowd that included actresses Emma Watson and Meg Ryan, actor Steve Martin, director Steven Spielberg and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
This week it was announced that Hanks was one of the key figures selected by Obama to be awarded the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Obama will present recipients including rocker Bruce Springsteen, Motown soul singer Diana Ross, former basketball champions Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actors Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Robert Redford with the medal at a White House ceremony on November 22, the White House said on Wednesday.
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