    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [June 21, 1996]
    [Page 942]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 942]]

    Remarks at the Olympic Torch Departure Ceremony
    June 21, 1996

        Good morning. I want to begin by thanking Lang Brown, not only for
    what he has done this morning in bringing the torch up here but for what
    he does every day. He gives his best to help troubled teenagers, to
    teach them how to live responsible lives and to know that they are not
    alone as they do their best. Today we honor that spirit, the spirit of
    the Olympics, as we send forth the Olympic torch to light the way to
    Atlanta. Thank you, Lang Brown.
        This torch has seen more of America than most of us Americans will
    see in a lifetime, and much of America has seen the torch, cheered it
    and the people bearing it. The torch, burning bright and strong, stands
    for the joy of athletic competition and more, for the importance of
    international cooperation and more, for the pride we feel when our
    strong young Americans win the gold and more. For this Olympic flame
    also calls upon each of us to be our very best as individuals, to do our
    best to build strong families and strong communities and a strong
    country. It tells us that victory comes to the united, not to the
    divided. Every Olympian has reached within and worked hard to be the
    fastest, the strongest, the most graceful.
        We all have hurdles to leap, to finish high school or college, to be
    a good parent, a good worker, a good neighbor. Every one of us must
    summon that spirit of responsibility and best effort in our own lives.
    Every Olympian stands at the starting block or at the beginning of a
    great game alone. But they do not win alone. They draw strength from a
    lifetime of support from family and friends, coaches and role models.
    And every one of us must summon that spirit of community to meet our
    challenges.
        Every Olympian is proof that for all of our differences, we are one
    America. We cheer our athletes not because they are men or women, not
    because of the color of their skin, we cheer them because they are
    Americans. They represent us all, and they fill us with pride. And every
    one of us must summon that spirit of unity to embrace those things that
    bind us together, and never to succumb to those things that would keep
    us apart.
        My fellow Americans, in the last several months, we have had to deal
    with some different kinds of flames. But it is this flame that
    represents the best of the United States of America. The Olympic spirit
    is the spirit of personal responsibility and best effort, the spirit of
    community, the spirit of unity. The people who carried this torch all
    across America show us exactly how that spirit can lift all our lives
    every day. This torch has been carried by a 74-year-old woman in Nevada
    who has cared for more than 100 abandoned children, by a New York
    businessman who has put thousands of disadvantaged young people through
    college, by a North Carolina teacher who organized students in 48 States
    against violence. This torch has been carried by America's best. They
    are everyday Olympians.
        Now this torch will be carried by someone who is America's best, who
    is both an everyday Olympian and a member of our Olympic team. Eight
    years ago Carla McGhee was in a car accident. She almost died. Her body
    was broken, but her spirit was whole. She fought her way back to a
    promising basketball career that most people thought had been lost
    forever. She went on to return to the University of Tennessee and to
    help her team win a national basketball championship. The Vice President
    is particularly proud of that achievement. [Laughter] And now we hope
    that she will help to work the same magic for our Olympic women's team,
    a miraculous road back for a wonderful young woman.
        May the Olympic flame always carry the ideals that burn in athletes
    and citizens like Carla McGhee, that burn in people like our
    torchbearers, the community heroes, the veterans of war and the keepers
    of peace, and all of those who have run with it, walked with it, wheeled
    with it, and set eyes on it. And may these ideals cast light on every
    shadow and brighten every dream on America's road to tomorrow.
        May God bless America. And to Carla and all our Olympians, Godspeed.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:50 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to torchbearer Lang Brown, clinical
    director for independent living, Sasha Bruce Youthwork.