[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[May 5, 1998]
[Pages 690-692]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the Dedication of the Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center
May 5, 1998
Thank you very much. Mrs. Reagan, Mr.
Barram, Secretary Daley, Senator Moynihan,
Delegate Norton, Senator Dole, Senator Lott, all the Members of
Congress and the diplomatic
[[Page 691]]
corps who are here; Mr. Mayor;
Secretary Shultz and General Powell and all the former members of the Reagan administration
who are here and enjoying this great day; to Maureen and to the friends of President and Mrs. Reagan who
are here. I'd like to begin by thanking Jim Freed and his team for a magnificent building. I think we all
feel elevated in this building today.
I also want to say on behalf of Hillary and myself a special word of
appreciation to Mrs. Reagan for being here.
From her own pioneering efforts to keep our children safe from drugs to
the elegance and charm that were the hallmarks of the Reagan White
House, through her public and brave support for every family facing
Alzheimer's, she has served our Nation exceedingly well, and we thank
her.
The only thing that could make this day more special is if President
Reagan could be here himself. But if you look
at this atrium, I think we feel the essence of his presence: his
unflagging optimism, his proud patriotism, his unabashed faith in the
American people. I think every American who walks through this
incredible space and lifts his or her eyes to the sky will feel that.
As Senator Moynihan just described, this building is the completion
of a challenge issued 37 years ago by President Kennedy; I ought to say,
and doggedly pursued for 37 years by Senator Moynihan. [Laughter] I must say, Senator, there were days when
I drove by here week after week after week and saw only that vast hole
in the ground, when I wondered if the ``Moynihan hole'' would ever
become the Reagan Building. [Laughter] But sure enough, it did, and we
thank you.
As you have heard, this building will house everything from an
international trade center to international cultural activities to the
Agency for International Development to the Woodrow Wilson Center for
Scholars. It is fitting that the plaza on which we gather bears the name
of President Wilson. And it is fitting that Presidents Wilson and
Reagan are paired, for their work and,
therefore, the activities which will be culminated in this building span
much of what has become the American century.
Since President Reagan left office, the
freedom and opportunity for which he stood have continued to spread. For
a half century, American leaders of both parties waged a cold war
against aggression and oppression. Today, freed from the yoke of
totalitarianism, new democracies are emerging all around the world,
enjoying newfound prosperity and long-awaited peace. More nations have
claimed the fruits of this victory: free markets, free elections, plain
freedom. And still more are struggling to do so.
Today we joy in that, but we cannot--indeed, we dare not--grow
complacent. Today we recall President Reagan's
resolve to fight for freedom and his understanding that American
leadership in the world remains indispensable. It is fitting that a
piece of the Berlin Wall is in this building. America's resolve and
American ideals so clearly articulated by Ronald Reagan helped to bring
that wall down.
But as we have seen repeatedly in the years since, the end of the
cold war did not bring the end of the struggle for freedom and
democracy, for human rights and opportunity. If the history of this
American century has taught us anything, it is that we will either work
to shape events or we will be shaped by them. We cannot be partly in the
world. We cannot lead in fits and starts or only when we believe it
suits our short-term interests. We must lead boldly, consistently,
without reservation, because, as President Reagan repeatedly said,
freedom is always in America's interests.
Our security and prosperity depend upon our willingness to be
involved in the world. Woodrow Wilson said that Americans were
participants in the life of the world, like it or not. But his
countrymen did not listen to him, and as a result, there came the Great
Depression, the rise of fascism, the Second World War. Our Nation then
learned we could not withdraw from the world.
Then a new generation of Americans reached outward in the years
after World War II, building new alliances of peace and new engines of
prosperity: NATO, the United Nations, the IMF, the international trading
system. It is no accident that during this period of great American
leadership abroad we experienced unparalleled economic prosperity here
at home. And it is no accident that freedom's great triumph came on
America's watch.
Today, on the edge of a new century, the challenges we face are more
diverse. But the values that guide America must remain the same. The
globalization of commerce and the explosion of communications technology
do not resolve all conflicts between nations; indeed, they create new
challenges. They do not diminish our responsibility to lead, therefore;
instead,
[[Page 692]]
they heighten it. Because today's possibilities are not tomorrow's
guarantees, we must remain true to the commitment to lead that every
American leader of both parties, especially Ronald Reagan and Woodrow Wilson, so clearly articulated in this
20th century.
For 50 years we fought for a Europe undivided and free. Last week
the United States Senate took a profoundly important step toward that
goal by welcoming Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into NATO, an
achievement I believe that would make Ronald Reagan proud. The alliance that helped to keep the peace for
a half century now brings us closer than ever to that dream of a Europe
united, democratic, and at peace.
Now Congress has other opportunities to fulfill the spirit and honor
the legacy of the man whose name we affix to this building today.
Congress has the opportunity to maintain our leadership by paying for
our support to the IMF and settling our dues to the United Nations. I
hope they will do it.
President Reagan once said we had made
what he called an unbreakable commitment to the IMF, one that was
unbreakable because, in this age of economic interdependence, an
investment in the IMF is simply an investment in American prosperity.
And we fought for 50 years for peace and security as part of the United
Nations. In 1985, Ronald Reagan said the U.N.
stands as the symbol of the hopes of all mankind for a more peaceful and
productive world. ``We must not,'' he said, ``disappoint those hopes.''
We still must not disappoint those hopes.
President Reagan understood so clearly that America could not stand
passively in the face of great change. He understood we had to embrace
the obligations of leadership to build a better future for all. The
commerce that will be conducted in this great building will be a
testament to the opportunities in a truly global economy America has
done so much to create. The academic and cultural activities that will
be generated from people who work here will bring us closer together as
well. Because the Agency for International Development will be here, we
will never forget that the spark of enterprise and opportunity should be
brought to the smallest, poorest villages in the world, for there, too,
there are people of energy, intelligence, and hunger for freedom.
This is a great day for our country. This is a day of honoring the
legacy of President Reagan, remembering the
service of President Wilson, and rededicating ourselves to the often
difficult but, ultimately, always rewarding work of America.
As I stand within the Reagan Building, I am confident that we will
again make the right choices for America, that we will take up where
President Reagan left off, to lead freedom's
march boldly into the 21st century.
Thank you, and God bless you.
Note: The President spoke at 1:36 p.m. in the atrium of the Ronald
Reagan Building. In his remarks, he referred to former First Lady Nancy
Reagan; General Services Administrator David J. Barram; former Senator
Bob Dole; Mayor Marion S. Barry, Jr., of Washington, DC; former
Secretary of State George P. Shultz; former Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), chairman, America's Promise--The
Alliance For Youth; Maureen Reagan, daughter of former President Ronald
Reagan; and architect James I. Freed.