    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 31, 1999]
    [Pages 2358-2359]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the ``America's Millennium'' Celebration
    December 31, 1999

        Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we celebrate. The change of centuries,
    the dawning of a new millennium are now just minutes away. We celebrate
    the past. We have honored America's remarkable achievements, struggles,
    and triumphs in the 20th century. We celebrate the future, imagining an
    even more remarkable 21st century.
        As we marvel at the changes of the last hundred years, we dream of
    what changes the next hundred and the next thousand will bring. And as
    powerful as our memories are, our dreams must be even stronger. For when
    our memories outweigh our dreams, we become old, and it is the eternal
    destiny of America to remain forever young, always reaching beyond,
    always becoming, as our Founders pledged, ``a more perfect Union.'' So
    we Americans must not fear change. Instead, let us welcome it, embrace
    it, and create it.
        The great story of the 20th century is the triumph of freedom and
    free people, a story told in the drama of new immigrants, the struggles
    for equal rights, the victories over totalitarianism, the stunning
    advances in economic well-being, in culture, in health, in space and
    telecommunications, and in building a world in which more than half the
    people live under governments of their own choosing for the first time
    in all history. We must never forget the meaning of the 20th century or
    the gifts of

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    those who worked and marched, who fought and died for the triumph of
    freedom.
        So as we ring in this new year, in a new century, in a new
    millennium, we must, now and always, echo Dr. King in the words of the
    old American hymn: ``Let freedom ring.''
        If the story of the 20th century is the triumph of freedom, what
    will the story of the 21st century be? Let it be the triumph of freedom
    wisely used, to bring peace to a world in which we honor our differences
    and, even more, our common humanity. Such a triumph will require great
    efforts from us all.
        It will require us to stand against the forces of hatred and
    bigotry, terror and destruction. It will require us to continue to
    prosper, to alleviate poverty, to better balance the demands of work and
    family, and to serve each of us in our communities. It will require us
    to take better care of our environment. It will require us to make
    further breakthroughs in science and technology, to cure dread diseases,
    heal broken bodies, lengthen life, and unlock secrets from global
    warming to the black holes in the universe. And perhaps most important,
    it will require us to share with our fellow Americans and, increasingly,
    with our fellow citizens of the world the economic benefits of
    globalization, the political benefits of democracy and human rights, the
    educational and health benefits of all things modern, from the Internet
    to the genetic encyclopedia to the mysteries beyond our solar system.
        Now, we may not be able to eliminate all hateful intolerance, but we
    can develop a healthy intolerance of bigotry, oppression, and abject
    poverty. We may not be able to eliminate all the harsh consequences of
    globalization, but we can communicate more and travel more and trade
    more, in a way that lifts the lives of ordinary working families
    everywhere and the quality of our global environment. We may not be able
    to eliminate all the failures of government and international
    institutions, but we can certainly strengthen democracy so all children
    are prepared for the 21st century world and protected from its harshest
    side effects.
        And we can do so much more to work together, to cooperate among
    ourselves, to seize the problems and the opportunities of this ever
    small planet we all call home. In short, if we want the story of the
    21st century to be the triumph of peace and harmony, we must embrace our
    common humanity and our shared destiny.
        Now, we're just moments from that new millennium. Two centuries ago,
    as the framers where crafting our Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was
    often seen in Independence Hall looking at a painting of the Sun low on
    the horizon. When, at long last, the Constitution finally was signed,
    Mr. Franklin said, ``I have often wondered whether that Sun was rising
    or setting. Today I have the happiness to know it is a rising Sun.''
    Well, two centuries later, we know the Sun will always rise on America,
    as long as each new generation lights the fire of freedom. Our children
    are ready. So again, the torch is passed to a new century of young
    Americans.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:53 p.m. at the Lincoln Memorial.