Sorrow of Legends - Chapter 2

I have worn a mask for sixty years.

I have brandished the flag of freedom for as long as I can remember.

But today I plan to draw the line at what I have seen my country become and step out from behind this mask and truly lead my people.

When I was 18, I volunteered for a special assignment. By chemical process, I was transformed from a weakling into a robust symbol of freedom and democracy. With my new body, I led my friends into the breach to their deaths against a horrible enemy who threatened our way of life. They would have followed me into hell if I asked them to. They stood behind me and my shield.

After defeating the greatest evil the world has ever known, I stood up to defend freedom on America's shores. I have led a group of heroes and I have worked alone - but I have always been a symbol of what we believe in. Freedom, liberty and helping to spread that to the four corners of the globe. I have defeated fascists, communists, terrorists in the name of American Freedom.

When the President ordered me to lead my men into this war on terror, I didn't hesitate. Over time, our mission changed, and as each day passes, the international support we had at the outset is turning away. With what we know now, we used a horrific attack against our way of life to justify a ridiculous invasion for interests that were disparate from our national vision. What began as spreading freedom and democracy has turned into to avenging a failed invasion years ago with the lives of men and women who were barely old enough to do much more than look up to me at the time. As a direct result of our actions in the wake of the greatest tragedy our people have endured, we are less safe in our own homes today.

Today, its time to take off my mask, and let everyone who believes in me actually know what they are believing in. When they see me remove my mask, the people will know that I am more than just the symbol behind our ideals- but I am a man who can help to forge our vision of those ideals and refocus our people - galvanizing it, and returning it to the great society it was always meant to be.

My name is Steve Rogers, and I am running for President. I want you to take the trust you, your parents, and our nation has had in me as a symbol and invest it as me as a man. I think my dedication to our nation speaks for itself.