    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 23, 1999]
    [Pages 1578-1579]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Memorial Service for Lane Kirkland
    September 23, 1999

        Irena, members of the Kirkland family,
    Father O'Donovan, Monsignor
    Higgins, distinguished Members of
    Congress, visitors from other lands, and my fellow Americans:
        I am profoundly honored to be here to pay tribute to a person I
    admired for many years before I ever thought I would have the chance to
    work with him as President, a man whom I was honored to present the
    Presidential Medal of Freedom, because he was, in our time, the very
    embodiment of the cause of freedom, a man who was both brilliant and
    articulate and still almost irrationally passionate about the things he
    knew to be right.
        Back in 1985 Lane Kirkland went home to South Carolina, to the State
    university, and gave one of the most eloquent speeches on the role of
    Government ever delivered. Perhaps the most memorable line was his
    reflection on the terms ``liberal'' and ``conservative.'' If you look at
    who is here today to pay tribute to Lane, it's a pretty good place for
    me to start my remarks.
        He said, ``As one who has been afflicted by both labels, depending
    on the stance of the afflictor and the foreign or domestic nature of the
    issue, I doubt their utility in this day and age for anyone except
    slapdash journalists.''
        Not only did Lane reject such labels, we all know that he defied the
    labels, ``liberal'' and ``conservative.'' In fact, in many ways, he
    defied all labels.
        He was a man of remarkable contrasts. You've already heard others
    speak about his humility. He was a true five-star general in the global
    fight for human liberty, but so down to earth, he was offended if anyone
    called him anything but Lane.
        He was such a powerful force for justice, he could lead hundreds of
    thousands of working people to march on Washington. But for years,

    [[Page 1579]]

    the most powerful force in his own home was a little dachshund named
    Stanley. He was a man of idealism and strong opinions, but he was
    genuinely open to people who had the courage to differ with him. He was
    a gifted intellectual, but on Sunday afternoons, he put his books aside
    to watch the Redskins on TV. He was a man of the arts, whose perhaps
    favorite artistry was his harmonica rendition of ``Solidarity Forever.''
    For all of his contrasts, there was a remarkable consistency underlying
    everything he thought and said and did.
        Both George Meany and Lane used to say, ``The role of the trade
    unions is to try to keep the big guys from kicking the little guys
    around.'' That was his philosophy of life. And believe me, I got my fair
    share of lectures about it. [Laughter]
        He lived it when he walked the picket lines with hotel workers in
    Las Vegas, when he got arrested with miners in Appalachia, when he
    quoted the fiery words of Zapata to mistreated Latino janitors in L.A.
    He lived it when he stood in solidarity with the oppressed workers of
    the Soviet bloc or helped to tear down the Iron Curtain in Poland and
    elsewhere in the communist world. He lived it when he struggled for
    racial and gender equality, when he fought to strengthen the Civil
    Rights Act, when he championed the cause of women and minorities within
    the America labor movement, when he helped to rescue the NAACP from
    bankruptcy.
        You could see it in his own office, where he always treated even the
    most junior members of his staff with the same dignity and respect he
    demanded for working men and women throughout the world. He stood up for
    the little guy. It was his ideology. It was also his way of life.
        I want to conclude today with a story that was passed along to us at
    the White House by one of Lane's closest advisers. After he passed away,
    one of the medics who came to the house took Irena aside and said, ``When I first took this call, the name
    Kirkland didn't ring any bells. But when I arrived, I realized who your
    husband was. As the shop steward for my EMS unit, I want you to know how
    grateful I am for everything your husband did for us. He was a wonderful
    man, and I know that everyone in my unit feels the same way.''
        Well, Irena, for all the distinguished
    speakers who will pay tribute to your husband today, I don't think any
    of us could do better than that. So let me just say that I am grateful
    for this giant of a man, a true American hero, a man who stood up for
    the little guy. I hope all of us can be faithful to his admonition to do
    the same. It is the only way we can give him the legacy he has richly
    earned.
        God bless you and your family.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:30 p.m. in Gaston Hall at Georgetown
    University. In his remarks, he referred to Mr. Kirkland's widow, Irena;
    Father Leo J. O'Donovan, president, Georgetown University; and Monsignor
    George G. Higgins, former director, Social Action Department, National
    Catholic Welfare Conference (later known as the United States Catholic
    Conference).