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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Smith, Curt, Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1992
OA/ID Number:
13888
Folder ID Number:
13888-022
Folder Title:
Cheltenham High School, Wycotte, Pennsylvania, 6/19/89
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Shelf:
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G
18
29
1
4
(Smith/Blessey)
May 30, 1989
Draft Three
HIGH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CHELTENHAM HIGH SCHOOL
WYCOTTE, PENNSYLVANIA
JUNE 19, 1989
President , Faculty and Administrators, Parents, Students,
Friends.
Let me thank you all for that very kind reception. And, in
particular, I want to thank you,
, for that gracious
introduction.
Fact is, I have to admit that listening to your words of
welcome, I was reminded of something one of our former Presidents
said when he heard an introduction that even he considered
generous.
"I only wish my parents could have been alive to hear that
introduction," Lyndon Johnson told his audience. "My father
would have enjoyed it. And my mother would have believed it!"
My friends, I'm enjoying it ---- being at the magnificent
success that is Cheltenham High School. And I know that you'll
believe me when I say what a pleasure it is to join my soon-to-be
fellow high-school graduates.
Of course, I also want you to enjoy today. Therefore, a
promise: I will be brief. After all, you've worked and studied
and struggled for four years, and now comes the hard part.
Listening to a Commencement address.
My friends, Add let me assure you: I do remember how it feels.
speed
For it was nearly half a century ago that I, too, listened to a
high-school commencement address -- like you, as an
undergraduate, about to receive my degree.
In high school, I loved History, English, and major league
baseball [PAUSE]
not necessarily in that order. But most
of all, I loved tomorrow. Its possibilities were soaring,
infinite. Its horizons lay out ahead of us, like a day right
behind the rain.
Today, I would like to talk about your possibilities as
individuals, and our horizons as a Nation. I do so with the
knowledge that you inherit a world not of your own making. And
whis
2
yet with the belief that you can change that world -- charitably,
and courageously -- through your choices and your deeds.
First, as prologue, a personal note
The date of my graduation, I like millions of other
Americans enlisted in the Armed Forces. For possibilities
meant nothing unless America first crushed the forces of tyranny
or
Dream.
try and win the peace. A Each of us striving to live the American
and oppression. Years later, with victory secure, we returned to
Corn
Like so many of my generation -- your grandparents'
generation -- I was lucky. Went to college. Got married. And
I'll not soon forget how Barbara and I packed our belongings in a
red Studebaker and moved halfway across the country. New State
-- Texas. New life -- raising kids in a -room apartment.
And we shared the bathroom with a lady who lived in a house
trailer next to us. Started an oil company. Built a business.
Charted unexplored frontiers -- like you, starting now.
Since then, we've had a few mailing addresses. A computer
gauged the total once: moves in years. And like you will,
-
we've had more than a few adventures. New problems. New vistas.
And always, the distinctly American challenge of tomorrow -- the
unknown. Course, we do hope now to stay in the same place
awhile. As John Kennedy once said of the White House, "I have a
nice home, and the office is close by."
I relate this not as an appendix to Gulliver's Travels. Nor
as some trip down Memory Lane. But rather because over all those
years, and all those miles, and all that wonderful experience, I
learned a few things about this Nation. And about her people.
I learned, for starters, that we are not black and white,
rural and urban, the privileged and the poor. Instead, we are
Americans.
I learned, too, that life -- real life -- insists that we
help those for whom the American Dream has become an Impossible
Dream. And that any definition of life -- a successful life --
must include serving others.
And I learned, finally, that for different generations this
service may take different forms. For conditions vary, and
challenges change. Yet what doesn't change E- for my generation,
and for yours is the capacity -- the responsibility -- to help
a larger community. For we are not -- never have been -- islands
unto ourselves.
Two centuries ago, for instance, our forefathers banded
together to brave Independence. Their challenge was to found the
3
Colonies and then push back the wilderness. Ninety years later,
your great-great-great-grandfathers helped win the War Between
the States. Their challenge was to preserve the Republic SO
that, united, we stood.
A later generation helped oust Depression. Another helped
rebuild postwar Europe. Still another placed a man on the moon.
At times, we have been ragged in goods. But we have always been
rich in spirit. Even in 1933, with 25 per cent of America's
workforce out of work, her new president could say, surveying the
Republic: "Our troubles concern, thank God, only material
things."
Franklin Roosevelt knew then, as we know now, that a
celebration of self is mockery charade. And that prosperity
without purpose means nothing. He knew --- as other Presidents
have; as we do, too -- that we were put on this earth to lend a
hand, tend a wound, and help the less fortunate. And that
America has been -- historically -- and must remain -- indelibly
-- a force for good in the free and non-free worlds.
We term these beliefs volunteerism, or community service.
Service to Nation, and to neighbor. They embody what President
Kennedy alluded to when he implored us to "Ask what you can do
for your country." And what Dwight Eisenhower meant when he
declared, "We must be willing, individually and as a Nation, to
accept what sacrifices may be required of us."
As Americans, we have made those sacrifices -- eagerly,
selflessly -- over 200 years. Think of Bunker Hill and Bastogne,
where we upheld the canons of democracy. Or the Marshall Plan,
where we aided our former enemies. Or the Peace Corps, where we
said that volunteerism is the highest plane of patriotism. And
now we must act again.
Abroad, we must support those who demand the rights our
ancestors bequeathed to us -- the rights of assembly, religion,
press, free speech.
Look to Poland, whose labor unions demand a voice -- and
that their voice be heard. Or the Soviet Union, where
individuality is on the march. Or China, whose students have
installed a Statute of Democracy in Beking's Taineman Square. My
friends, the world is changing. Because America's ideals are
winning -- the ideals of liberty, human dignity, and "Do Unto
Others.'
allowing
In recent weeks, at College Commencement speeches, I have
spoken of these ideals. And urged the Soviet Union to move
beyond containment to rejoin the community of Nations. Today, I
ask you to support democracy abroad -- to expand opportunity of
expression. And I ask you, also, to act at home. Not to ensure
4
expression. We won that battle long ago [PAUSE] . if you
doubt me, just listen to my critics. Rather, to win the war not
yet won: The battle E to ensure equality, prosperity, and above
all, hope.
Today, I ask you to enlist in that great crusade. And to
use community service as America's secret weapon, and her shield.
Pope Pius XII once spoke of America's "genius for great and
generous deeds." My friends, by giving of, not to, ourselves,
volunteerism can make those deeds reality.
Now, I know there are some --- some friends of mine, others
not so friendly -- who dismiss volunteerism as banal, passe.
Or unsophisticated. Or -- to them, the greatest sin --
hopelessly old-fashioned. My friends, let me be direct: If
being wrong were an art form, these folks would be the Rembrandt
of our age.
To the women who is able to work because her daughter has
found a child-care center -- you tell her that community service
is mundane. She'd tell you to get lost. Or the senior citizen,
attending an education center, who is able -- finally -- to read.
You tell him that volunteerism is a fraud. He'll laugh you off
the stage -- that is, if he doesn't punch you in the nose.
The parents whose son has escaped heroin addiction because
of round-the-clock counseling. The hungry and the homeless
yearning for shelter and a meal. They know -- we know -- that
volunteerism works. It is as timeless as our history, and as
timely as today.
Yes, it's true: In 1989, our challenges may not be as
dramatic as winning a global conflagration. Or restoring a
Nation wracked by poverty and despair. And to that I say: Thank
God. But they are as crucial to our destiny, and to our fabric
as a people. And they will require the little-noted efforts that
make headlines in the local weekly, if not the national
magazines. Efforts by America's good, quiet, decent people --
people like you -- aiding, enriching, and helping our neighbor.
My friends, it is these efforts -- far more than government
-- that can foster America's possibilities, and horizons. Last
year, for instance, Americans contributed billion volunteer
hours. And fully 23 million Americans volunteered 5 hours or
more per week. They showed how the private sector -- and
individuals -- have the resources -- and the responsibility -- to
confront issues like hunger and health care, teen pregnancy and
drug abuse.
Can they do it alone? Of course, they can't. For the
essence of America is that we are driven to do better. That is
why have created the Office of National Service, which will
5
enlist new volunteers to help meet unmet social needs. This
Office will spur cooperation between all levels of government,
private enterprise, and voluntary organizations. And assist the
millions of people -- according to a recent Newsweek poll, more
than 85 per cent of all Americans -- who expect to spend as much
or more time in the future doing community service.
And I am announcing today that days from now, I will send
legislation to the Congress -- and announce specifics -- of our
Administration's new YES or YES to America Program -- Youth
Entering Service. By saying "Yes" to America -- as the Peace
Corps did, and , and -- American youth can surpass -- far
surpass -- the limits of what government alone can do.
Possibilities, and horizons. Individually, and as a Nation.
Together, we can raise them, and give the lie to those who speak
of some "Me" Generation. Instead, let us build a cathedral of
the spirit -- and show that yours is America's "We" Generation.
You know, two weeks ago one of Pennsylvania's leading
citizens announced his retirement from baseball. In years,
Mike Schmidt hit 548 home runs. Won three Most Valuable Player
Awards. And became perhaps the greatest third baseman in
baseball history. Moreover, he was a model family man, and
donated hundreds of hours to local charities.
Upon retiring, Schmitty observed that "Sixteen years ago, I
was a shy kid from Dayton, two bad knees, who dreamed of being a
big-league ballplayer." And then he said, "Thank God that dream
came true."
4-m,
For Mike Schmidt, both on and off the field, the
possibilities of life came true. And possibilities, too,
transfixed perhaps the greatest Pennsylvanian of them all --
Benjamin Franklin -- when 202 years ago he looked at the
president's chair on the last day of the Constitutional
Convention address and
Often, the noted kite-flyer conceded, he had wondered during
Philadelphia's long, hot summer whether the sun painted on the
chair was rising or setting. "But now at length," Franklin
said, "I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a
setting sun."
My friends, for America -- for volunteerism -- for you as
individuals -- our sun is also rising.
In coming years, give to life the life you have received
from this high school. Be selfless. Do Unto Others. Help spur
that unity of purpose which benefits the Nation as a whole.
6
And as you do, remember that your inheritance is America -
treasure it. Care intensely, and give intensely of yourselves.
And may you recall how, together, we can shape "tomorrow" in the
image of our dreams --- not merely for this generation, but for
generations to come.
Good luck, my most heart-felt congratulations, God bless
you, and God bless the United States of America.
# # # #
(Smith/Blessey)
June 2, 1989
Draft Five
HIGH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CHELTENHAM HIGH SCHOOL
WYCOTTE, PENNSYLVANIA
JUNE 19, 1989
President , Faculty and Administrators, Parents, Students,
Friends.
Let me thank you all for that very kind reception. And I
especially want to thank you,
, for that gracious
introduction.
It is indeed a privilege to be at the magnificent success
that is Cheltenham High School. And I know that you'll believe
me when I say what a pleasure it is to join my soon-to-be fellow
high-school graduates.
Of course, I also want you to enjoy today. Therefore, a
promise: I will be brief. After all, you've worked and studied
and struggled for four years, and now comes the hard part.
Listening to a Commencement address.
And let me assure you: I do remember how it feels. For it
seems like only yesterday that I, too, listened to a high-school
Commencement spèech -- like you, as an undergraduate, about to
receive my degree [PAUSE] ... Believe me, I only wish it were
yesterday.
2
In high school, I loved History, English, and major league
baseball [PAUSE]
not necessarily in that order. But most
of all, I loved tomorrow. Its possibilities were soaring,
infinite. Its horizons lay out ahead of us, like a day right
behind the rain.
Today, I would like to talk about your possibilities as
individuals, and our horizons as a Nation. I do so with the
knowledge that you inherit a world not of your own making. Yet
with the belief that you can change that world -- charitably, and
courageously -- through your choices and your deeds.
You know, after high school, I got married. Went to
college. And I'll not soon forget how in our twenties, Barbara
and I packed our belongings and moved halfway across the country.
Started a company. Built a business. Charted unexplored
frontiers -- like you, starting now.
Since then, we've had a few adventures. And more than a
few addresses. And always, that distinctly American challenge of
tomorrow -- the unknown. Course, we do hope now to stay in the
same place awhile. As John Kennedy once said of the White House,
"I have a nice home, and the office is close by."
I relate this not as an appendix to Gulliver's Travels. Nor
as some trip down Memory Lane. But rather because over all those
years, and all those miles, I learned a few things about this
Nation. And her people.
To begin, I learned that we are not black and white, rural
and urban, the privileged and the poor. We are Americans.
3
I learned, too, that life -- real life -- insists that we
help those for whom the American Dream has become an Impossible
Dream. And that any definition of life -- a successful life --
must include serving others.
And I learned, finally, that for different generations this
service may take different forms. For conditions vary, and
challenges change. Yet what doesn't -- musn't -- change is the
capacity -- the responsibility -- to help a larger community.
Two centuries ago, for instance, our forefathers banded
together to brave Independence. Their challenge was to found the
Colonies and then push back the wilderness. Ninety years later,
many of your great-great-great-grandfathers helped win the War
Between the States. Their challenge was to preserve the Republic
so that, united, we stood.
A later generation helped oust Depression. Another helped
rebuild postwar Europe. Still another placed a man on the moon.
At times, we have been ragged in goods. But we have always been
rich in spirit. Even in 1933, with 25 per cent of America's
workforce out of work, Franklin Roosevelt could say, surveying
the Republic: "Our troubles concern, thank God, only material
things."
FDR knew then, as we know now, that a celebration of self is
mockery. And that prosperity without purpose is meaningless. He
knew that we were put on this earth to lend a hand, tend a wound,
and help the less fortunate. And that America has been --
4
historically -- and must remain --- indelibly -- a force for good
in the world.
We term these beliefs volunteerism, or community service.
Service to Nation, and to neighbor. They embody what Harry
Truman alluded to when he implored "the human family" to help
"the least fortunate of its members to help themselves." And
what Dwight Eisenhower meant when he declared, "We must be
willing, individually and as a Nation, to accept what sacrifices
may be required of us. "
As Americans, we have made those sacrifices -- eagerly,
selflessly -- over 200 years. Think of Bunker Hill and Bastogne,
where we upheld the canons of democracy. Or the Marshall Plan,
where we aided our former enemies. Or the Peace Corps, where we
said that volunteerism is the highest plane of patriotism.
Today, we must act again.
Abroad, we must support -- by word, and by deed -- the young
people who demand such rights as assembly, religion, press, free
speech. The rights our ancestors won for us. And that we too
often take for granted.
Look to Poland, whose labor unions demand a voice -- and
that their voice be heard. Or the Soviet Union, where
individuality is on the march. Or China, whose students have
installed a Statute of Democracy in Beking's Taineman Square. My
friends, the world is changing. Because America's ideals are
winning -- the ideals of liberty, human dignity, and "Do Unto
Others. "
5
In recent weeks, at College Commencement speeches, I have
spoken of these ideals. And urged the Soviet Union to move
beyond containment to rejoin the community of Nations. What I'm
talking about is simple: All peoples' right of free expression.
And at home, we must also act. Not to ensure expression [PAUSE]
...
We don't have to worry about that [PAUSE]
If you
doubt me, just listen to my critics. Rather, to win the war not
yet won: The war for equality, prosperity, and above all, hope.
Today, I ask you to enlist in that great crusade. And to
use community service as America's secret weapon, and her shield.
Now, I know there are some -- some friends of mine, others
not so friendly -- who dismiss volunteerism as passe,
unsophisticated. Or -- Heaven forbid, the greatest sin -- as
hopelessly old-fashioned. My friends, if being wrong were an art
form, these folks would be the Rembrandts of our age.
To the woman who is able to work because her daughter shares
a child-care center --- you tell her that community service is
mundane. She'll tell you to get lost. Or the senior citizen,
attending an education center, who is able -- finally -- to read.
You tell him that volunteerism is a fraud. He'll laugh you off
the stage -- that is, if he doesn't punch you in the nose.
The parents whose son has escaped heroin addiction because
of round-the-clock counseling. The hungry and the homeless
yearning for shelter and a meal. They know -- we know -- that
volunteerism works. It is as timeless as our history, and as
timely as today.
6
Yes, it's true: In 1989, our challenges may not be as
dramatic as winning World War II. Or restoring a Nation wracked
by poverty and despair. And to that I say: Thank God. But they
are as crucial to our destiny, and to our fabric as a people.
And they will require the little-noted efforts that make
headlines in the local weekly, if not the national magazines.
Efforts by America's good, quiet, decent people -- people like
you -- aiding, enriching, and helping our neighbor.
My friends, it is these efforts -- far more than government
-- that can foster America's possibilities, and horizons. Last
year, for instance, Americans contributed billion volunteer
hours. And fully 23. million Americans volunteered 5 hours or
more per week. They showed how the private sector -- and
individuals -- have the resources -- and the responsibility -- to
confront issues like hunger and health care, teen pregnancy and
drug abuse.
No, it's not enough -- it never is. For the essence of
America is that we are driven to do better. That is why have
created the Office of National Service, which will enlist new
volunteers to help meet unmet social needs. This Office will
spur cooperation between all levels of government, private
enterprise, and voluntary organizations. And assist the more
than 85 per cent of all Americans -- according to a Newsweek poll
-- who expect to spend as much or more time in the future doing
community service.
7
And I am announcing today that days from now, I will send
legislation to the Congress -- and announce specifics -- of our
Administration's new YES or YES to America Program -- Youth
Entering Service. By saying "Yes" to America -- as the Peace
Corps did, and , and -- American youth can surpass -- far
surpass -- the limits of what government alone can do.
Possibilities, and horizons. Individually, and as a Nation.
Together, we can raise them, and give the lie to those who speak
of some "Me" Generation. Instead, let us build a cathedral of
the spirit -- and show how yours is America's "We" Generation.
You know, 202 years ago perhaps the greatest Pennsylvanian
of them all looked at the president's chair on the last day of
the Constitutional Convention. And addressing a friend, Benjamin
Franklin made a confession.
Often, he admitted, he had wondered during Philadelphia's
long, hot summer whether the sun painted on the chair was rising
or setting. "But now at length," Franklin said, "I have the
happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun."
My friends, for America -- for volunteerism -- for you as
individuals -- our sun is also rising.
In coming years, give to life the life you have received
from this high school. Help spur that unity of purpose which
benefits the Nation as a whole.
And as you do, remember that your inheritance is America -
treasure it. Be selfless. Do unto others. Together, let us
8
shape "tomorrow" in the image of our dreams -- not merely for
this generation, but for generations to come.
Good luck, my most heart-felt congratulations, God bless
you, and God bless the United States of America.
# # # #
(Smith/Blessey)
June 16, 1989
Draft Eight
HIGH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CHELTENHAM HIGH SCHOOL
WYCOTTE, PENNSYLVANIA
JUNE 19, 1989
Mr. Secretary, Dr. Stefanski, Mr. Rogers, Members of the
Board, Faculty and Administrators, Parents and Students.
Thank you, Hang Ngyun [Hong WEE en], for that gracious
introduction. And I want to thank all of you for your generous
reception.
It is indeed a privilege to be at the magnificent success
that is Cheltenham High School. And to say, paraphrasing Mark
Twain, that reports of your reputation have not "been greatly
exaggerated."
You know, as Marine One flies, it's 120 miles from
Washington to Philadelphia. And on the way up here Secretary
Cavazos -- that ardent champion of American education -- detailed
for me your superb record of achievement in social service,
music, the academics and humanities.
Well, now that I've seen you up-close and personal, I can
say that Mr. Trimble is right: Cheltenham, "you are beautiful."
And I know that you'll believe me when I say what a pleasure it
is to join my soon-to-be fellow high-school graduates.
Of course, I also want you to enjoy today. Therefore, a
promise: I will be brief. After all, you've worked and studied
2
and struggled for four years, and now comes the hard part.
Listening to a Commencement address.
And let me assure you: I do remember how it feels. For it
seems like only yesterday that I, too, as a high-school senior,
listened to a Commencement speech [PAUSE]
Believe me, I
only wish it were yesterday.
In high school, I loved History, English, and major league
baseball [PAUSE]
not necessarily in that order. But most
of all, I loved the possibilities, and horizons, of the rainbow
called tomorrow. A rainbow that, here at Cheltenham, you color
blue and gold.
Today, I would like to talk about your possibilities as
individuals, and our horizons as a Nation. I do so believing
that you can enrich the world -- charitably, and courageously --
through your choices and your deeds. And through a few things
I've learned, and would like to share with you: Things about
America -- and her people.
I have learned, for instance, that we are not black and
white, rural and urban, the privileged and the poor. We are
Americans.
I have learned that any definition of a successful life
insists that we help those for whom the American Dream seems like
an Impossible Dream.
And I have learned that for different generations this help
may take different forms. For conditions vary, and challenges
3
change. Yet what does not -- must not -- change is our capacity
-- responsibility -- to assist society at large.
Two centuries ago, for instance, our forefathers banded
together to brave Independence. Their challenge was to found the
Colonies and then tame a wild frontier. Ninety years later, the
challenge for many of your great-great-great-grandfathers was to
preserve the Republic so that, united, we stood.
A later generation helped pull us out of the Depression.
Still another placed a man on the moon. At times, we have been
ragged in goods. But we have always been rich in spirit. Even
in 1933, with 25 per cent of America's workforce out of work,
Franklin Roosevelt could say, surveying the Republic: "Our
troubles concern, thank God, only material things." "
FDR knew then, as we know now, that life is measured not by
what's in our bank account -- but by holding ourselves to account
for the well-being of our community.
This belief is as timeless as the Spirit of 1776. It
embodies what Dwight Eisenhower meant when he said, "We must be
willing, individually and as a Nation, to accept what sacrifices
may be required of us. "
As Americans, we have made those sacrifices -- eagerly,
selflessly -- for over 200 years. Think of Bunker Hill and
Bastogne, where we upheld the tenets of democracy. Or the
Marshall Plan, where we rebuilt postwar Europe. Or the Peace
Corps and Power Through People, where freedom waved a flag
emblazened, "Service to Nation, and to neighbor."
4
( (You know, a student told me awhile ago that high school is
a great place to learn about personal risk-taking. I asked how
he figured that. And he said: "Have you ever tasted cafeteria
food?") )
My friends, today I ask you to take a risk for a cause
larger than ourselves. It is the cause of Clara Barton and the
Salvation Army. Of Raoul Wallenberg, who helped refugees escape
oppression, and Mary McLeod Bethune, who made higher learning a
bequest. It is the cause of helping others, and thereby America.
It is the cause of democratic ideals.
Abroad, this cause insists that we help -- by word, and by
deed -- the young people who demand such rights as assembly,
religion, press, free speech. The rights our ancestors secured
for us. And that we too often take for granted.
[
Look to the Soviet Union, where brave people press for
religious, intellectual, and political liberty. Look to Poland,
where Solidarity's long struggle has borne fruit in the results
of free elections. Or, yes, look to China, where students have
demanded freedom -- a demand that will not be stilled.
Who will ever forget the picture of that young Chinese --
solitary and vulnerable -- facing down a column of tanks? That
vivid, unforgettable image illustrates how precious is the
freedom that is America's secret weapon, and her shield.
We do not have to stand in front of tanks in America. But
we do have to summon the same courage to confront the evil that
exists in the world. We have to stand in front of the forces of
5
cruelty and violence. And confront the dark powers of poverty
and despair. We have to summon the courage to face down the
scourge of drugs that stalks, and harms, our youth.
Fortunately, we Americans have an advantage: We have a
heritage of bravery, of faith in God, of liberty and human
dignity. And the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have
others do unto you. Values embodied, for example, by Cheltenham
graduates David Dornstein [DORN steen] and Martin Apfelbaum, who
lost their lives in the crash of Pan Am Flight 103.
In recent weeks, at College Commencement speeches, I have
spoken of these values. And called for the right of peoples
everywhere to free expression. Well, those values also guide our
challenge at home. Not merely to ensure free expression -- for
the most part, that war has already been won. Rather, to win the
struggle not yet decided: The fight for justice, equality, and
hope.
My friends, to win that fight will require you, and you, and
you [POINT TO THREE MEMBERS OF AUDIENCE] -- you, and others,
enlisting in our crusade. And it will demand the little-noted
deeds that make headlines not in the national magazines, but in
the local weekly. Deeds that once moved Lafayette, a 17-year-old
when he led Washington's troops at Yorktown, to write of America:
"What charms me most is, that all the citizens are brethren.'
We term these deeds volunteerism, or community service.
They are central to our fabric as a Nation, and as a people. No,
they aren't as dramatic as the profiles in courage of Warsaw, the
6
gulags, and Tiananmen Square. But they reflect the same sense of
sacrifice, and of concern: concern for country, decency, our
fellow man.
You know, there's a story about a father who told his son
that if he cheated on an exam he'd only be hurting himself. And
the son replied, "Maybe I'll see if I can stand the pain.'
Well, volunteerism's groups, and individuals, haven't
cheated -- themselves, or their society. Groups like your Youth
at Risk program, Eagle Scouts, and United Way Youth Council
Chapter. Individuals like Anneka Cooper, who assists a
neighborhood nursing home. Or Keith Damsker, translating
materials into Korean for the American Cancer Society. Or two
Jennifers -- Payes and Lowe [Low] -- who serve at Moss
Rehabilitation Center and Holy Redeemer Hospital.
The thing is: At Cheltenham, that's just a partial reading.
The list is endless. Their deeds go on. And another thing:
Across America, we need to expand this roll of volunteers. For
they can combat -- nationally -- as you are doing -- locally --
issues like hunger and health care, drug abuse and homelessness.
To achieve that aim, our Administration recently created the
Office of National Service. And this week, we will take another
step. For by announcing our Administration's new YES or YES to
America Program -- Youth Entering Service -- we will refute those
who speak of a "Me" Generation. Instead, this program can build
a cathedral of the spirit -- and help yours become a global "We"
Generation.
7
Let me tell you a story about that generation, and its
spirit.
One day, a man stepped aboard a train. And as he did, a
shoe slipped off and landed on the track. Unable to retrieve it
as the train was moving, the man calmly took off his other shoe
and threw it back along the track in the direction of the first.
His fellow passengers were amazed. Smiling, Mahatma Gandhi
explained his action: "The poor man who finds the shoe lying on
the track will now have a pair he can use."
Gandhi knew, as we must, that the "We" Generation rejects a
new Gilded Age of mindless self-absorption. For only "we," not
"me," can define a successful life both for the individual and
the Nation.
Remember those beliefs. Treasure them. And remember, too,
two signs which are posted right here in your gym.
One suggests that, "Success is a journey, not a
destination." Often perilous, even cruel, but possessed of the
challenges and values linking the students of this high school
with the students of the world.
The other sign reads, "If a man never fails it may be
because he never tries." My friends, some of you may try for
President. Others, more enlightened, will do something truly
inspiring. Become a doctor, like your alumnus, Michael Brown.
Perhaps a ballplayer, like Cheltenham's Reggie Jackson. An
artist like Edward Hergelroth, who has painted my own home in
Kennebunkport. Or writers like Levinson and Link.
8
Whatever you decide, you will act not for yourselves alone
x
-- but for a larger community, whether in Cheltenham or China.
And in that spirit, let me close with another story from the
human, which is the global, saga: A story about the most famous
Pennsylvanian of them all.
Two hundred and two years ago, Benjamin Franklin looked at
the president's chair on the last day of the Constitutional
Convention. And addressing a friend, he made a confession.
Often, Franklin admitted, he had wondered during
Philadelphia's long, hot summer whether the sun painted on the
chair was rising or setting. "But now at length," he said, "I
have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting
sun."
My friends, for America - - for this high school -- for you
as individuals - our sun is rising, too.
In coming years, expand America's possibilities. Enlarge
her horizons as a people. Say "Yes" to liberty, and to the
dignity of man.
And as you do, remember that your inheritance is the future
-- guard it, cherish it. Together, let us shape "tomorrow" in
the image of our dreams -- not merely for this generation, but
for generations to come.
Good luck, my most heart-felt congratulations, God bless
you, and God bless the United States of America.
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