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Skriven 2005-05-21 23:33:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0505211) for Sat, 2005 May 21
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President Delivers Commencement Address at Calvin College
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 21, 2005

President Delivers Commencement Address at Calvin College
The Calvin College Fieldhouse
Grand Rapids, Michigan



2:15 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, President Byker; members of the Calvin faculty;
distinguished guests; parents, friends, family -- and, most importantly,
the Class of 2005. (Applause.)

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 re-live 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 applause.) 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 and applause.)

I thank the moms and dads here for your sacrifice and for your love.
(Applause.) I want to thank the faculty for your hard work and dedication.
(Applause.) 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. (Applause.) 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 nation.

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 local Rotary Clubs. 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 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 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 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. (Applause.) 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 and may God bless you, and may God continue to
bless our country. (Applause.)

END 2:30 P.M. EDT

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