[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.