[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  SPEECH BY ROBERT H. MICHEL AT COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES FOR AUGUSTANA 
                        COLLEGE, ROCK ISLAND, IL

                                 ______


                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 1994

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to place into the Record a speech 
given by the House minority leader, Robert H. Michel of Illinois. This 
speech was given at the 1994 commencement ceremonies for Augustana 
College in Rock Island, IL, on May 22, 1994.
  In addition to sound advice for the graduates of Augustana, our 
leader makes some excellent remarks on U.S. foreign and defense policy 
in the post cold war world, and I commend this speech to all Members of 
the House.

    Remarks by House Republican Leader Robert H. Michel, Augustana 
                       Commencement, May 22, 1994

       I am deeply honored on being the commencement speaker at 
     such a wonderful occasions for students, parents faculty and 
     administration of the Augustana Class of 1994. That sense of 
     honor is somewhat tempered by one fact: I cannot recall the 
     name of the commencement speaker at my graduation in the 
     class of 1948 in Bradley University in my home town of 
     Peoria. But perhaps this is as it should be: commencement 
     speakers are sometimes memorable only for the length rather 
     than the wisdom of their discourse.
       I am reminded of the old saying that a commencement address 
     should strike a balance between the speaker's pleasant duty 
     to declaim and the graduates' urgent desire to depart. I hope 
     to strike that balance today. Each generation has its own 
     distinguishing characteristics: In the 1920's there was ``the 
     lost generation.'' There was the ``beat generation'' in the 
     1950's. My own generation had no label. We were too busy 
     trying to work our way out of a depression, and fight a world 
     war. But whatever name history bestows, your generation faces 
     a unique challenge: You must bridge the gap between the post-
     Cold War world that is dying and a new world waiting to be 
     born. You must salvage the best from the past, and devise new 
     answers to new questions. And there are many new questions 
     being asked in the post-Cold war world.
       It so happens that the House of Representatives is in the 
     midst of debating the Defense Department authorization bill 
     for the coming year. For almost 38 years I have been a 
     participant in debates over our national security. And I can 
     tell you that I am troubled by certain recent trends in our 
     national foreign and defense policies. I have until now 
     refrained from making formal public comments about my views, 
     in deference to the President, who I know is trying his best 
     to do what is right for our country. But the time has come 
     when I believe that my duty toward our nation overrides my 
     reluctance to publicly criticize the policies of a new 
     President. After 18 months, a new president is no longer new.
       Since these foreign policy trends will have a direct effect 
     on the course of your lives--and the life of our nation--I 
     just have to make a few appropriate remarks about them here 
     today. I am particularly concerned with the drift and 
     indecision in foreign policy that has marked the first 
     eighteen months of this administration. A writer for the 
     Washington Post described the President's foreign policy 
     routine in these words--and I quote: ``. . . issuance of a 
     threat that was easier to make than carry out; an inability 
     to set or stick to priorities, misplaced faith in the 
     goodwill of adversaries; (and) in discipline among contending 
     voices in the administration, undermining any impression of 
     resolve.''
       From Somalia to Bosnia, from North Korea to Haiti, the 
     administration has sent out confused and often conflicting 
     policy signals. Then there is Communist China, whose 
     importance to the future of world peace can scarcely be 
     exaggerated. President Clinton as a candidate harshly 
     criticized the policy of President George Bush to continue to 
     open China to free markets. But when he became President he 
     seemed to embrace that policy. And now he appears to want to 
     criticize and embrace it at the same time.
       I can tell you from almost four decades of observing and 
     taking part in national security and foreign policy debates: 
     Rhetoric isn't enough. Good public relations are not enough. 
     The ability to charm audiences is not enough. Good intentions 
     are not enough. A President of the United States must have a 
     set of foreign policy and national security principles in 
     place when he comes into office. He must implement those 
     principles. And he must make tough decisions without worrying 
     about popularity polls. Can anyone imagine the current 
     administration conceiving, undertaking and successfully 
     completing the kind of complex, dangerous, gravely important 
     military operation that President Bush led in the Gulf War? 
     What is needed by the administration is not just more 
     appearances at televised town meetings, not more media 
     strategies, not more public relations experts, but more 
     serious thought as to the ends and means of foreign policy--
     and the will to carry out tough policies in the face of 
     criticism.
       The Clinton administration continues to promote the deepest 
     defense spending cuts since World War II. To meet those cuts, 
     the Department of Defense, on average, will lay off 15,000 
     personnel, retire one ship, 37 primary aircraft and one 
     combat battalion each month--that's right, each month!--of 
     the next fiscal year. We can't cut defense the way this 
     administration has and then say we are operating from a 
     position of strength in the world. No one is going to believe 
     us. And I can tell you the lesson of history in such a case 
     is as clear and consistent as it is cruel: A loss of 
     credibility in the field of policy is the prelude to the loss 
     of lives on the field of battle.
       At this point you're probably musing to yourselves that we 
     already know we are going to face a lot of problems. But what 
     can we do to help solve such enormous problems? It may sound 
     strange, but I believe your generation will be challenged to 
     change America by leading ordinary lives in an extraordinary 
     way. In a democracy, foreign policy and defense policy are--
     or should be--a reflection of the will of the people. And the 
     will of the people can offer no reliable guidance to foreign 
     policy unless it is rooted in the ordinary virtues of courage 
     prudence, justice, and faith among the people. There is an 
     old saying that a country that has no heroes is sad--but a 
     country that always needs heroes is sadder still. I believe 
     that is true.
       Heroes are always welcome. But when a country gets into 
     such trouble that heroes are necessary, it is in a state of 
     crisis. We aren't there . . . yet. I believe we have time to 
     solve may of our problems. But the changes must come from the 
     bottom up, from every community, family and individual. 
     Government can accomplish great things. But what this country 
     desperately needs today--government can't do. Recently I came 
     upon a saying attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. He said that 
     individual and national problems spring from seven causes: --
     Wealth without work. --Pleasure without conscience. --
     Knowledge without character. --Commerce without morality. --
     Science without humanity. --Worship without sacrifices. --
     Politics without principles. There is not a single one of 
     these problems that government action can solve. Not one. In 
     a democracy like ours, government must work for the people. 
     But only the people can provide the social and moral 
     foundation on which sound government policy can be erected. 
     Many of the moral and social breakdowns in our society can be 
     traced to failures to adhere to ordinary, civilized standards 
     of behavior.
       That is why I think your generation has what Franklin 
     Roosevelt called ``a rendezvous with destiny'', a special 
     calling to restore ordinary virtues to American life. And 
     what do I mean by ordinary virtues? Here are a few of them: 
     --No matter what your job is, do it the very best you can. 
     Craftsmanship, concern, and conscience should be at the heart 
     of your work. --Take responsibility for yourself, your family 
     your property, and your community. --Treat others as you 
     would be treated. --Keep reasonably informed about the world 
     and the nation and your neighborhood--and then be sure to 
     vote. --Know your constitutional rights--but also know your 
     moral duties. If we could just restore such a sense of 
     ordinary duty and responsibility to daily life, our nation 
     would be transformed.
       A distinguished diplomat recently was asked about America's 
     role in the world. And he replied: ``. . . unless we preserve 
     the quality, the vigor, and the morale of our own society, we 
     will be of little use to anyone at all.'' And that, I 
     believe, will be the great challenge of your generation. 
     Perhaps I have disappointed you by not urging you on to feats 
     of unparalleled heroism, with the blaring trumpets and 
     booming drums of the media spotlight. But I believe that the 
     gentle, quiet rhythms and harmonies of ordinary people 
     practicing ordinary virtues make a greater music for our 
     nation.
       In my own life I can think of two such ordinary people: my 
     parents. My father came here from France to build a better 
     life. He found work and did it the best he knew how. He 
     married. He and my mother raised a family. Just an ordinary 
     story, repeated millions of times by families all across 
     America. But what a extraordinary contribution such ordinary 
     lives make to a nation! Just adhering, day by day, to 
     standards of personal decency, honestly and love; just doing 
     a job well and teaching by example the virtues of hard work 
     and discipline; just having faith and living by its dictates: 
     How ordinary--how difficult--and how extraordinarily 
     wonderful! Two weeks from now I will return to Normandy, 
     where, fifty years ago, we stormed the beaches of occupied 
     France. I said earlier a nation that needs heroes is in a 
     state of crisis.
       Well, fifty years ago, we needed heroes in World War II 
     because we were in such a crisis. A victory for Hitler would 
     have been a disaster for our nation and for western 
     civilization. But many heroes made the ultimate sacrifice in 
     that war, so we emerged victorious. Those of us lucky enough 
     to have survived believed a new, better world would have to 
     be created out of the ashes. Fifty years have passed and 
     although we have made some progress in a few areas, we have a 
     long way to go. And so, as your generation takes up the 
     burdens of leadership, perhaps you will remember a little bit 
     of verse that was found at a battlesite during World War II. 
     It was written by an allied soldier just before he died. And 
     here is what he wrote: ``When you go home, Tell them of us, 
     and say; For your tomorrow, We gave our today.''
       It is my wish for your generation that fifty years from 
     now, the many today's of your lives will have been given to 
     building a better tomorrow for our country. Congratulations, 
     to this class of '94 and all best wishes to each and every 
     one of you as you go forth to face the world of work.

                          ____________________