Sanders Campaign Press Release - In Search for Common Ground, Sanders Addresses Justice and Morality at Liberty University

LYNCHBURG, Va. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday received a warm welcome from more than 13,000 students at Liberty University where he spoke at a campus convocation about moral values and justice.

Sanders was introduced to by Jerry Falwell Jr., the university president and son of the school's founder.

Sanders came to Liberty University, he said, because he believes it is "important for those with different views in our country to engage in civil discourse." He spoke of the importance of exchanging ideas "with those who do not agree with us and see where, if possible, we can find common ground."

He complimented the school's mission to understand the meaning of morality and the Bible "within the context of a very complicated modern world."

Acknowledging differences on issues like women's rights and gay rights, Sanders suggested there could be agreement on issues of "enormous consequence" involving "massive injustices" such as income inequality, hunger, childhood poverty and lack of health care for all Americans. "Maybe, just maybe, we can work together in trying to resolve them."

He touched on a host of issues that have been the centerpiece of his campaign for the White House.

"There is no justice when the top one-tenth of 1 percent own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. There is no justice when all over this country people are working longer hours for lower wages, while 58 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent," Sanders said.

"There is no justice when, in recent years, we have seen a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires while, at the same time, the United States has the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. Twenty percent of all children – and 40 percent of African-American children – now live in poverty.

"There is no justice when, in a rigged economy, the 15 wealthiest people in this country in the last two years saw their wealth increase by $170 billion. That is more wealth, acquired in a two-year period, than is owned by the bottom 130 million Americans.

"There is no justice when low-income and working-class mothers are forced to be separated from their new babies one or two weeks after giving birth because they must go back to work to sustain their family and because the United States is the only major country on earth that does not provide paid family and medical leave.

"There is no justice when thousands of people in this country die each year because they don't have health insurance and don't get to a doctor when they should."

Full remarks can be found here.

Watch the video here: