[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1167-E1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WELCOMING SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT TO MINNESOTA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 1998

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to submit to the 
Record Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright's insightful and 
promising commencement address to the University of Minnesota College 
of Liberal Arts on Sunday, June 14, 1998 for Members review. I hope my 
colleagues will examine its message: America must lead. We must lead in 
the pursuit of global freedom and democracy, enforcing greater human 
rights, supporting the nuclear test ban agreement, limiting the 
proliferation of nuclear weapons, striving to improve the working 
conditions around the world and protecting earth's natural resources. 
This address was a powerful statement and was very well received by the 
graduates and the general public.

  University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Spring Commencement 
                         Address, June 14, 1998

             (By Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright)

       Thank you, Vice-President Mondale, for that wonderful 
     introduction. It's great to see you again and thank you for 
     welcoming me to your state.
       Regents of the University, President Yudof, Dean 
     Rosenstone, honorary degree recipient Estes, Teacher of the 
     Year Professor Sugnet, U.S. Representative Bruce Vento, 
     Members of the class of 1998 and your families, faculty, and 
     friends, I am delighted to be here and honored that you asked 
     me to share this day with you.
       To the parents here this morning, let me say that I 
     understand how you feel. I had three daughters graduate from 
     college and each time the emotions were the same: intense 
     pride--and immense relief.
       To the Class of '98, I add my heartfelt congratulations to 
     those of Fritz Mondale. Today is a day to celebrate; it is 
     the payoff for all the late nights in the library and the 
     long hours studying. Graduation is one of the five great 
     milestones in life. The others are birth, marriage, death and 
     the day you finally pay off your student loan.
       Now, at last, only one thing still stands between you and 
     your degree. And that is my speech. The bad news is that I am 
     a former professor. Even my soundbites are fifty minutes 
     long.
       The good news is that I will not inform you that you had 
     more fun in college than you will ever have again, for that 
     might depress you. I will not place the weight of the world 
     upon your shoulders, for that might intimidate you. And I 
     will not lecture you about your social habits, for that will 
     always be your parents' job.
       Instead, I want to discuss with you some of the choices 
     which we as a society and as a nation face. For nations are 
     like people. Each must choose whether to live their lives 
     selfishly and complacently or to act with courage and faith.
       We are privileged to reside in a country that, through most 
     of this century, has chosen the latter course, to lead. So 
     that today, we are helping to shape events in every region on 
     every continent in every corner of the world.
       We exercise this leadership not out of sentiment, but out 
     of necessity. For we Americans want to live, and we want our 
     children

[[Page E1168]]

     to live, in peace, prosperity and freedom. But as the new 
     century draws near, we cannot guarantee these blessings for 
     ourselves if others do not have them as well
       Earlier this spring, at the Coast Guard Academy and the 
     University of Maryland, I spoke of some of the specific steps 
     we are taking to advance these goals: to reinvigorate our 
     alliances, for example, and to build a more open and fair 
     system of trade. This is especially important in states like 
     Minnesota, where companies such as Cargill, General Mills, 
     Honeywell, Pillsbury and 3M have made you export leaders.
       But today, I want to address a theme that ties the broad 
     goals of our foreign policy together. For I have found as 
     Secretary of State that now, more than ever, the great 
     dividing line in the world is not between East and West, 
     North and South or rich and poor; it is between those 
     paralyzed by the memories and habits of the past, and those 
     energized by prospects for the future.
       That is not rhetoric; it is reality.
       Consider, for example, nuclear weapons. The recent 
     decisions by India and Pakistan to conduct nuclear tests 
     reflect old thinking about national greatness, and old fears 
     stemming from a boundary dispute that goes back more than 
     five decades.
       The Indian Prime Minister justified his action by saying 
     that his country ``has the sanction of her own past glory.'' 
     But if that rationale made any sense, which it does not, 
     other inheritors of past glory, from the modern day Egyptians 
     and Babylonians to the Incas and Aztecs, would be out setting 
     off atomic blasts.
       Our message to the leaders of South Asia and nations 
     everywhere is that if you want the world's respect--don't set 
     off nuclear bombs; educate your people.
       If you want the world's understanding; don't get into an 
     arms race--use technology to prosper in the global economy.
       And if you want the world's help; don't talk about how much 
     you can destroy--show us how much freedom and opportunity and 
     tolerance and respect for human dignity you can create. That 
     is the badge of greatness. And in that quest, every nation 
     that is prepared to help itself can count on the help of the 
     United States.
       The bomb blasts in South Asia should serve as a wake-up 
     call to the world. The Cold War has ended, but the danger 
     posed by nuclear weapons obviously has not. We must do all we 
     can to reduce the role that nuclear weapons play and the 
     risks that they entail. And we are.
       President Clinton has proposed to Russia a new round of 
     arms reductions that could bring our arsenals down to 80% 
     below Cold War peaks.
       We are working hard to ensure that all nuclear materials 
     are securely guarded and safely handled, so that no nukes 
     become loose nukes.
       We have made stopping the spread of nuclear and biological 
     weapons and poison gas a top priority in our relations with 
     Russia, China, Ukraine and other key countries.
       And last year, the President submitted to the Senate a 
     Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to ban nuclear explosive tests 
     of any size, for any purpose, in any place, for all time. 
     There could be no greater gift to the future. Now, more than 
     ever, India and Pakistan should sign that agreement.
       And, now more than ever, the United States Senate should 
     stop shilly-shallying around and approve it for America. 
     Because if we want others to refrain from nuclear tests, and 
     we do; others will want us to promise the same; and we 
     should. On this critical issue, at this perilous time, our 
     leadership should be unambiguous; decisive and strong.
       Tragically, one of the recurring themes of the twentieth 
     century and of all history has been the competition by 
     different nations and peoples for land, resources and power. 
     As the new century draws near, our corresponding challenge is 
     to restrain and channel such competitions, so that 
     differences are resolved peacefully and with respect for the 
     legitimate rights of all.
       Here again, almost wherever you look, you will see people 
     struggling to reconcile their hopes for the future with their 
     memories of the past. You will see some whose actions and 
     thoughts are dictated almost entirely by old grievances, who 
     are embittered and think only of revenge. They are the 
     prisoners of history.
       But you will see others who share the same memories and 
     bear the same scars, but are nevertheless taking courageous 
     action to find common ground with old adversaries. They are 
     the shapers of history. And they are driven by hope and 
     determination to build a future for their children that is 
     better than the past.
       You can be proud that the United States is standing 
     shoulder to shoulder with the peacemakers against the 
     bombthrowers; supporting the Good Friday agreement in 
     Northern Ireland; trying to end conflict in the Horn of 
     Africa; working with our partners to stop violence and 
     repression in the Balkans; and striving to overcome setbacks 
     in the quest for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
       In each case, America is on the side of those determined 
     not to re-live the past, but rather to learn from it and 
     improve upon it.
       That is not international social work, as some suggest. It 
     is smart for America, because we are better off when regional 
     conflicts do not arise, threatening friends, creating 
     economic disruptions and generating refugees. And it is also 
     right to help others avoid unnecessary bloodshed, and enable 
     people to enjoy what President Clinton has called the quiet 
     miracle of a normal life.
       The divide between past and future is evident also in 
     attitudes towards the environment where, all too often, we 
     still hear the old conventional wisdom:
       ``Don't worry, our natural resources are inexhaustible.''
       ``Don't act, environmental protection costs too much.''
       ``Don't get excited, nature can recover on her own from 
     even the worst pollution.''
       Well, I can't speak for Mother Nature, but not only am I a 
     mother, I am a grandmother of three, and there are times I 
     want to shout from the rooftops, ``Wake up.''
       We are about to enter a century when there will be far more 
     of us around the world, living closer together, consuming 
     more, demanding more, using more and throwing more away.
       Isn't it only common sense that we take reasonable steps to 
     restrain population growth and safeguard the health of our 
     air and the cleanliness of our rivers, lakes and coasts? For 
     if we fail to do that, we will deny our children and our 
     children's children the legacy of abundance we ourselves 
     inherited.
       That would be a felony against the future. And it is not 
     acceptable--to you, or to me.
       We have to recognize, moreover, that effective 
     environmental protection must be a multinational enterprise. 
     It requires global action.
       Today, leading scientists agree that greenhouse gases are 
     warming our planet.
       Those stuck in the past say:
       ``Don't worry, let's keep pumping more and more of those 
     gases into our atmosphere. Let's hope the freakish tornadoes 
     and floods we've been experiencing are not related to global 
     climate change. Let's choose to believe that the predicted 
     sea level rise and the sudden changes in farm production 
     won't happen. Let's pretend that the anticipated increase in 
     heat-related death and disease will not strike--or at least 
     not us.''
       ``Better yet, let's not think about it at all. Let's 
     forget, for example, that the past five months have been the 
     hottest January to May in recorded history. Let's wrap 
     ourselves in denial and bury ourselves like an un-Golden 
     Gopher in the sand.''
       I have a different view. I don't think America should hide. 
     I think America should lead.
       We emit more greenhouse gases than any other country--by 
     far. We should set an example. That is the only way to 
     persuade developing countries such as China, India and Brazil 
     to grow in ways that are environmentally friendly. And that 
     matters because, if they repeat our mistakes, we may find our 
     nation and our world increasingly unlivable. In time, we 
     could face a slow motion environmental Armageddon.
       That is why the Clinton Administration is working to ensure 
     that both industrialized and developing countries participate 
     in the effort to control global climate change.
       We have adopted an approach that will provide a boon to the 
     new environmental technologies America has developed. We have 
     agreed to targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that 
     are achievable and fair.
       Above all, we are insisting that action be taken now--not 
     twenty years from now--when the costs will be higher and the 
     job much harder. In this historic effort, we will need, and I 
     hope we will have, the wholehearted support of the North Star 
     State.
       Finally, the divide between future and past is evident in 
     attitudes around the world toward democracy and human rights.
       Some cling to the false sense of order that comes when 
     political dissent is stifled and everyone knows their place. 
     They haul out the old stereotypes and say that, ``Well, 
     freedom may work in some places, but the people in such and 
     such a country are not ready; they do not really want it; 
     they do not really need it.''
       To use a diplomatic term of art, that is balderdash.
       When I was still a little girl, my family was driven twice 
     from its home--first by Hitler and then by Stalin. So call me 
     prejudiced. But I believe in freedom.
       I believe that, for a society to reach its potential, its 
     people must be free to choose their leaders, publish their 
     thoughts, worship their God and pursue their dreams.
       That is a lesson we have learned time and again this 
     century, form South Africa to South Korea and from Central 
     Europe to Central America. It is a lesson we hope will be 
     applied now in Indonesia and Nigeria. In each country, new 
     leaders have an historic opportunity to bring their nation 
     into the democratic fold. If that is their choice, the United 
     States will do all it can to help.
       Because if we want the circle of freedom to grow, we must 
     assist those who are doing their best to help themselves by 
     nurturing civil liberties, defeating crime, creating open 
     markets, and building democratic institutions.
       Second, we must be willing to speak out for human rights 
     and for religious and political freedoms whether they are 
     under assault in a small country such as Burma or a big 
     country such as China. And if we are told to mind our own 
     business, we must respond that human rights are our business 
     because, as Martin Luther King once said, ``Injustice 
     anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''
       Third, we must strive to improve working conditions around 
     the world. Because I suspect you are like me. When we buy a 
     blouse or a shirt, we want to know that it was not produced 
     by people who are under-age, under coercion, in prison or 
     denied their basic right to organize.

[[Page E1169]]

       We Americans cannot and will not accept a global economy 
     that rewards the lowest bidder without regard to standards. 
     We want a future where profits come from perspiration and 
     inspiration, not exploitation.
       Fourth, we must do all we can to advance the status of 
     women, because no country can grow strong and free when 
     denied the talents of half its people.
       In years past, we have made enormous progress. But today, 
     around the world, terrible abuses are still being committed 
     against women. These include domestic violence, dowry 
     murders, mutilation and forced prostitution. Some say all 
     this is cultural and there's nothing we can do about it. I 
     say it's criminal and we each have an obligation to stop it.
       Finally, the United States must continue to lead the world 
     in its support for the international war crimes tribunals, 
     because we believe that the perpetrators of genocide and 
     ethnic cleansing should be held accountable and those who see 
     rape as just another tactic of war must pay for their crimes.
       Members of the Class of 1998: Today, you will graduate into 
     a world of accelerating and astonishing change, where 
     technological breakthroughs occur daily, trends may disappear 
     in a week, and events of just a few years ago can seem like 
     ancient history.
       But some things have not changed.
       The dynamism of the Twin Cities.
       The beauty of the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.
       The excellence of this College and University.
       The integrity of Walter Mondale.
       And the purpose of America.
       Fifty years ago, across the river in St. Paul, President 
     Harry Truman spoke of the strength of democracy and of our 
     country. He did not stress the power of our armed forces, 
     though powerful they were.
       He did not mention the mighty American economy, though we 
     were responsible for almost half of the world's production at 
     the time. He did not emphasize the vastness of our territory 
     or the size of our population. He spoke instead of a deeper 
     and more profound source of strength.
       ``Hitler'', said President Truman, ``learned that 
     efficiency without justice is a vain thing. Democracy does 
     not work that way. Democracy is a matter of faith--a faith in 
     the soul of man--a faith in human rights. That is the kind of 
     faith that moves mountains--that's the kind of faith that 
     hurled the (resources of the) Iron Range at the Nazis.''
       ``Faith gives value to all things,'' President Truman 
     concluded, ``Without faith, the people perish.''
       This afternoon, at this celebration of warm memory and high 
     expectation, I summon each of you in the name of our country 
     and of all who have worked and sacrificed to build it, to 
     embrace the faith that your courage and your perseverance 
     will make a difference.
       And that every life changed by your example; every 
     community enriched by your giving; every problem solved by 
     your diligence; and every barrier to justice brought down by 
     your determination, will ennoble your own life, inspire 
     others, help fulfill the American Dream, and explode outward 
     the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth.
       Class of 1998: As I look out among you, all I see are 
     future shapers and history makers. The world is waiting. The 
     new century is yours to build. Go for it. And may God bless 
     you all. Thank you very much.

     

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