[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[June 5, 1996]
[Pages 866-867]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Fulbright Scholarship Program 50th Anniversary Dinner
June 5, 1996

    Ladies and gentlemen, let me say a special welcome to all of you, 
especially to our distinguished guests from overseas, to the Members of 
Congress, and of course, particularly to the members of the Fulbright 
family, to Harriet and to Betsey and Bosey and Tad. We're delighted to 
have all of you here tonight.
    Hillary and I have looked forward for some time to celebrating this 
50th anniversary of the Fulbright program, to honor the dream and legacy 
of a great American, a citizen of the world, a native of my home State, 
and my mentor and friend, Senator Fulbright--a man who understood, long 
before others did, that the only way we could ever have peace in the 
world was by increasing understanding among people, by the open trading 
of ideas and knowledge and world views and friendships as well as goods 
and services.
    Those of us who shared his roots in the Arkansas Ozarks owe him a 
special debt of gratitude. His vision and brilliance and the power of 
his example said to a whole generation of us who were landlocked--and 
most of us had never been very far from home by the time we were nearly 
grown--that we could still imagine a world beyond the borders of our 
State and relate to it, to participate in it, that we needed to 
understand that world, and that perhaps we had something to give to it. 
To all Americans, Senator Fulbright gave the gift of understanding that 
the only way to lasting peace is for people to understand one another, 
the simple act of giving and receiving the best that each of us has to 
offer.
    Now for five decades, the Fulbright program has stood as a proud 
symbol of our Nation's fundamental commitment to that ideal. For hun-


[[Page 867]]

dreds of thousands of scholars here and abroad, it has cemented 
America's mission as a nation that cares about and is engaged in the 
world community. Many of our world's finest leaders and artists have 
benefited from this special experience. Some of them are here tonight, 
and I thank them for their presence. No matter their native tongue, all 
of them are now known by the proud name of Fulbrights.
    Senator Fulbright once said, ``The essence of intercultural 
education is the acquisition of empathy, the ability to see the world as 
others see it and to allow for the possibility that others may see 
something we have failed to see.'' Parenthetically, we might need a 
interparty Fulbright program in Washington these days. [Laughter] He 
went on to say that ``the simple purpose of the exchange program is to 
erode the culturally rooted mistrust that sets our nations against one 
another. It is not a panacea but an avenue of hope.''
    Tonight, as we celebrate 50 years of bipartisan support for the 
Fulbright program, let us all rededicate ourselves to this ideal; let us 
pledge to do all we can to give the Fulbright program to future 
generations of aspiring young people across the globe.
    And let us close as we offer a toast to the Fulbright scholarship 
program, to the Fulbright scholars, and to the memory of Senator 
Fulbright.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 8:27 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Senator Fulbright's widow, 
Harriet Mayor Fulbright; daughters Betsey Fulbright Winnacker and 
Roberta (Bosey) Foote; and son-in-law Edward Thaddeus Foote.