Politician

Nothing is more important to me, and nothing was more important to our founding fathers, than freedom of religion.

Every single American deserves to be treated equally by their fellow Americans and under the law.

As progressives, we care about the well-being of others. We are soft-hearted and have aloha, respect, compassion for others, and we don't like to see anyone suffering.

I am a practicing Hindu and have made no secrets about it.

I was raised in Hawaii in what I call a 'faith-inclusive' family. I never felt I had to choose loyalty to the New Testament over the Bhagavad Gita. It really wasn't until my late teens that I became aware of the ugly concept of sectarianism.

Every person has the freedom to choose to give their heart and give their life to God or not. You can't force someone to love God - or to love anyone.

It's when we care for each other - choosing inclusion and love over division and hatred - that this great country is at its greatest.

I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita because its teachings have inspired me to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country.

Disadvantaged communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change.

As a soldier, I stand ready to serve and protect and defend this country. And as a soldier, I know the cost of war. And as president and commander-in-chief, I will end these regime-change wars.

The Taliban didn't attack us on 9/11 - Al-Qaeda did. That's why I and other people joined the military - to go after Al Qaeda. Not the Taliban.

In short, I will never allow partisanship to undermine our national security when the lives of countless people lay in the balance. If that earns me enemies in Washington or at the State Department, then so be it.

It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between the United States and India. How can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of India's 800 million Hindus?

I am a military police officer and I have served on two deployments; my first was to Iraq, in a medical unit, and my second deployment was to Kuwait, as a military police platoon leader.

This commitment to equality and justice for all are the ideals that our country was founded upon and what we continue to aspire to as people. We cannot be complacent, and must vigilantly affirm this again and again, as bigotry and hatred have an insidious way of seeping into our society.

Some Republicans are good, and some Republicans are bad. Some Democrats are good, and some Democrats are bad. There are good police, and there are bad police. There are good black people and bad black people. There are good white people and bad white people.

In the military, I learned that 'leadership' means raising your hand and volunteering for the tough, important assignments.

I am proud to be the first Hindu American to have been elected to Congress and now the first Hindu American to run for president.

No matter where you're from, no matter what religion you practice, your ethnicity, race, or anything else - what is it that can bring us together as people? It is, what we call in Hawaii, aloha... sincere, deep love and respect for other people as children of God.

There is no denying that the interventionist wars in Iraq and Libya that were propagated as necessary to relieve human suffering actually increased human suffering in those countries - many times over.