[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).