[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S2527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S2527]]
                      THE VALUE OF SERVING OTHERS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Cameron Ball of Henderson, NV, recently 
delivered a moving speech on the value of serving others to the 
Coronado High School Honor Society. Over the past year, Cameron and the 
student body of Coronado High School have worked tirelessly to improve 
their community. Many of these students will enter college next year, 
but I hope they will keep Cameron's speech close to heart; service is a 
lifelong pursuit, and we all have an obligation to help others. I 
congratulate these students on their accomplishments for Coronado High 
School and Henderson, NV.
  I ask unanimous consent Cameron Ball's speech be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Speech to 2005-2006 Inductees of Coronado High School's National Honor 
                                Society

       Throughout the year, you have all proved yourselves 
     involved, caring, and crucial parts of our community. If we 
     were to have taken turns volunteering, one at a time, we 
     would have performed community service for more than a year. 
     Although this is a formal recognition of all your hard work 
     and service, you must all remember that dedication to a cause 
     does not end here, but it is a lifelong process. Induction 
     into NHS does not directly make your deeds significant, and 
     stops short of granting you success in life. Induction into 
     this club provides you with the experience you will need to 
     launch yourself into greater tasks. Emerson wrote: ``The only 
     reward of virtue, is virtue: the only way to have a friend, 
     is to be one.''
       Induction into National Honor Society is not a life-
     defining moment, but an infinitesimal instant in a continuum 
     of time. The significance of this club and its actions, your 
     actions, will seem to fade over the years. Spent will be the 
     money we worked so hard at raising from Hip Hop 4 Hearts; the 
     smiles we have put on the faces of those whom were fed, 
     clothes and given gifts will have waned. The tangible 
     accomplishments of this club will vanish gradually like 
     footprints in the sand. Instead, thoughts of college life 
     will fill your mind; money will still be sorely needed the 
     world over; and everywhere, pariahs of humanity will hide in 
     obscure poverty, waiting to be lifted from the black pit of 
     circumstance.
       Nevertheless, our actions and intentions have not been in 
     vain. NHS has not immortalized the happiness of an 
     individual. That would be impossible. National Honor Society 
     has catalyzed your involvement in a lifelong process: a 
     journey of love; a wrestle with dignity; a mission to make a 
     difference. The road that lies before you is intrinsically 
     more important that what you have done with these past three 
     quarters of your high school career. With your experience and 
     whetted appetite to serve, you will find that it becomes 
     easier to replenish the smiles on the faces of troubled 
     friends and strangers. If you pledge yourself to improving 
     the lives of others, you ensure that life continues. My life, 
     taken alone, is meaningless. As soon as I become one with my 
     community, I gain an identity: a purpose. I can do this by 
     volunteering, donating the fruits of my labor to a worthy 
     cause, or simply by giving everyone I see a smile. After all, 
     ``a friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature'' 
     (Emerson). Deeds, both great and small, are never wasted. As 
     Emily Dickinson wrote:

     If I can stop one heart from breaking,
     I shall not live in vain:
     If I can ease one life the aching,
     Or cool one pain,
     Or help one fainting robin
     Unto his nest again,
     I shall not live in vain.

       Your deeds have been exceptional thus far, and for that we 
     recognize you here today. The next step in serving is to shed 
     yourself of recognition for your actions. Give back to your 
     community more than you take from it, and do so modestly. Do 
     not boast of your accomplishments. Conceit never cured any 
     illnesses. Lao Tzu, ancient philosopher, propounds: ``True 
     virtue does not `act,' and has no intentions . . . Know 
     glory, but cleave to humiliation.'' By doing this, you will 
     rally others to your side--kindle in the despondent, a flame 
     of hope. Know your charge. Lift others to your side, and 
     never push them down. As for yourself, transcend the grasps 
     of hubris, and look to austere altruism for your guidance, 
     albeit at times seemingly insignificant, for even the 
     smallest action can change the course of history.

     

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