    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [May 21, 2005]
    [Pages 845-847]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Commencement Address at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan
    May 21, 2005

        Thank you, President Byker, members of
    the Calvin faculty, distinguished guests, parents, friends, family, and
    most importantly, the class of 2005.
        Thanks for having me. I was excited to come back to Calvin, and I
    was just telling Laura the other night about what
    fun it would be to come to Calvin College. I said, ``You know, Laura, I
    love being around so many young folks. You know, it gives me a chance to
    relive my glory days in academia.'' [Laughter] She said, ``George,
    that's not exactly how I would describe your college experience.''
    [Laughter] She also said one other thing I think the graduates will
    appreciate hearing, a good piece of advice. She said, ``The folks here
    are here to get their diploma, not to hear from an old guy go on too
    long.'' [Laughter] So with that sage advice, here goes.
        I bring a great message of hope and freedom to Calvin College class
    of 2005: There is life after Professor Vanden Bosch and English 101. [Laughter] Someday you will appreciate
    the grammar and verbal skills you learned here. [Laughter] And if any of
    you wonder how far a mastery of the English language can take you, just
    look what it did for me. [Laughter]
        I thank the moms and dads here for your sacrifice and for your love.
    I want to thank the faculty for your hard work and dedication. And
    again, I congratulate the class of 2005. Soon you will collect your
    degrees and say goodbyes to a school that has been your home, and you
    will take your rightful place in a country that offers you the greatest
    freedom and opportunity on Earth. I ask that you use what you've learned
    to make your own contributions to the story of American freedom.
        The immigrants who founded Calvin College came to America for the
    freedom to worship, and they built this great school on the sturdy
    ground of liberty. They saw in the American experiment the world's best
    hope for freedom, and they weren't the only ones excited by what they
    saw. In 1835, a young civil servant and aristocrat from France named
    Alexis de Tocqueville would publish a book about America that still
    resonates today.
        The book is called ``Democracy in America,'' and in it this young
    Frenchman said that the secret to America's success was our talent for
    bringing people together for the common good. De Tocqueville wrote that
    tyrants maintained their power by ``isolating'' their citizens and that
    Americans guaranteed their freedom by their remarkable ability to band
    together without any direction from government. The America he described
    offered the world something it had never seen before, a working model of
    a thriving democracy where opportunity was unbounded, where virtue was
    strong, and where citizens took responsibility for their neighbors.
        Tocqueville's account is not just the observations of one man; it is
    the story of our founding. It is not just a description of America at a
    point in time; it is an agenda for our time. Our Founders rejected both
    a radical individualism that makes no room for others and the dreary
    collectivism that crushes the individual. They gave us instead a society
    where individual freedom is anchored in communities. And in this hopeful
    new century, we have a great goal, to renew this spirit of community and
    thereby renew the character and compassion of our country.
        First, we must understand that the character of our citizens is
    essential to society. In a free and compassionate society, the public
    good depends on private character. That character is formed and shaped
    in institutions like family, faith, and the many civil and--social and
    civic organizations, from the Boy Scouts to the Rotary Clubs.

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    The future success of our Nation depends on our ability to understand
    the difference between right and wrong and to have the strength of
    character to make the right choices. Government cannot create character,
    but it can and should respect and support the institutions that do.
        Second, we must understand the importance of keeping power close to
    the people. Local people know local problems; they know the names and
    faces of their neighbors. The heart and soul of America is in our local
    communities; it is in the citizen school boards that determine how our
    children are educated; it's in the city councils and State legislators
    that reflect the unique needs and priorities of the people they serve;
    it's in the volunteer groups that transform towns and cities into caring
    communities and neighborhoods. In the years to come, I hope that you'll
    consider joining these associations or serving in government, because
    when you come together to serve a cause greater than yourself, you will
    energize your communities and you will help build a more just and
    compassionate America.
        Finally, we must understand that it is by becoming active in our
    communities that we move beyond our narrow interests. In today's complex
    world, there are a lot of things that pull us apart. We need to support
    and encourage the institutions and pursuits that bring us together. And
    we learn how to come together by participating in our churches and
    temples and mosques and synagogues, in civil rights associations, in our
    PTAs and Jaycees, in our gardening and book clubs, interest groups, and
    chambers of commerce, in our service groups from soup kitchens to
    homeless shelters.
        All these organizations promote the spirit of community and help us
    acquire the ``habits of heart'' that are so vital to a free society. And
    because one of the deepest values of our country is compassion, we must
    never turn away from any citizen who feels isolated from the
    opportunities of America. Our faith-based and community groups provide
    the armies of compassion that help people who wonder if the American
    Dream is meant for them. These armies of compassion are the great
    engines of social change. They serve individual and local needs, and
    they have been found at the front of every great movement in American
    history.
        The history of forming associations dedicated to serving others is
    as old as America, itself. From abolition societies and suffrage
    movements to immigrant aid groups and prison reform ministries,
    America's social entrepreneurs have often been far ahead of our
    Government in identifying and meeting the needs of our fellow
    countrymen. Because they are closer to the people they serve, our faith-
    based and community organizations deliver better results than
    Government. And they have a human touch: When a person in need knocks on
    the door of a faith-based or community organization, he or she is
    welcomed as a brother or a sister.
        No one understood this better than another 19th century visitor to
    America whose name is well known to Calvin College, Abraham Kuyper.
    Kuyper was a Dutchman who would be elected his nation's Prime Minister,
    and he knew all about the importance of associations because he founded
    so many of them, including two newspapers, a political party, and a
    university. Kuyper contrasted the humanizing influence of independent
    social institutions with the ``mechanical character of government.'' And
    in a famous speech right here in Grand Rapids, he urged Dutch immigrants
    to resist the temptation to retreat behind their own walls. He told them
    to go out into their adopted America and make a true difference as true
    Christian citizens.
        Our Government is encouraging all Americans to make a difference
    through our Faith-Based and Community Initiative. We're mobilizing
    Americans to volunteer through the USA Freedom Corps. We'll do our part,
    but ultimately, service is up to you. It is your choice to make. As your
    generation takes its place in the world, all

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    of you must make this decision: Will you be a spectator or a citizen? To
    make a difference in this world, you must be involved. By serving a
    higher calling here or abroad, you'll make your lives richer and build a
    more hopeful future for our world.
        At Calvin College, you take this call to service to heart. You serve
    as ``agents of renewal'' across the Earth. You volunteer for Big
    Brothers/Big Sisters to mentor young people. You work at Bethany
    Christian Services here in Grand Rapids, one of the best known adoption
    services in America. A former Calvin student and professor, Vern
    Ehlers, serves in the Halls of Congress. As
    the class of 2005 goes out into the world, I ask you to embrace this
    tradition of service and help set an example for all Americans. As
    Americans, we share an agenda that calls us to action, a great
    responsibility to serve and love others, a responsibility that goes back
    to the greatest commandment.
        This isn't a Democratic idea. This isn't a Republican idea. This is
    an American idea. It has sustained our Nation's liberty for more than
    200 years. The Founders knew that too much Government leads to
    oppression but that too little Government can leave us helpless and
    alone. So they built a free society with many roots in community. And to
    keep the tree of liberty standing tall in the century before us, you
    must nourish those roots.
        Today, the Calvin class of 2005 looks out on an America that
    continues to be defined by the promise of our Declaration of
    Independence. We're still the Nation our Founders imagined, where
    individual freedom and opportunity is unbounded, where community is
    vibrant, where compassion keeps us from resting until all our citizens
    take their place at the banquet of freedom and equality. And with your
    help, we'll all do our part to transform our great land one person and
    one community at a time.
        Thank you for having me. May God bless you, and may God continue to
    bless our country.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. at the Calvin College Fieldhouse.
    In his remarks, he referred to Gaylen J. Byker, president, Calvin
    College.