[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

[[Page 2359]]

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.