![]() As I said before, one of the three keys to success in America is a good education. This brings to mind a particular problem that confronts all Americans today. But that’s a two-edged sword: when things go poorly here in the United States, we have only ourselves to blame. The government here doesn’t tell us what we need rather, we tell the government what we want and what we’re willing to pay for. Among these is a government that is owned and controlled by the people. Now that you are Americans, you have inherited some special benefits. So what’s the secret to this extraordinary success of people from humble origins in America? Three things: strong families, hard work and a good education. He didn’t get that wealth from his mom and dad, he created it himself. Look at Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. Most of our richest people didn’t inherit their money from their parents, they made it themselves. It’s even true with respect to the very wealthy in this country. I went to a school with just three rooms and three teachers and no indoor plumbing. I myself was raised for a good part of my boyhood on a farm in Missouri. The same is true of our senators, our governors, our generals, our corporation CEOs, our university presidents, and our leaders in the professions – most have come from modest circumstances. The other eight ? Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton – all came from very modest circumstances. Only two of them – Kennedy and Bush – came from relatively privileged backgrounds. We’ve had ten Presidents since World War II. But the fact is, it’s true! At any given time in our history, most of our leaders, most of our most powerful and influential citizens, and most of our most successful people, have come from humble origins. Of course that’s a cliché you’ve heard it so often you’re probably tired of it. I suppose at this point I should tell you that ours is the land of opportunity. These are the monuments that define America and Americans. They miss the might and majesty of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. They say, “Here is the richest and most powerful country in history, but your public buildings and monuments are very modest when compared with those of other countries.”īut our real monuments are often overlooked by visitors. are often disappointed with what they see. Rather, what holds America together are words and ideals.įoreign visitors to this country who travel to Washington, D.C. Certainly not a common race or ethnicity. So what holds this country together? Certainly not a special set of common genes. But today you have truly become Americans – just as much Americans as George Washington, Eleanor Roosevelt or Martin Luther King. I could become a citizen of Germany but never a German, or a citizen of China but never a Chinese. I could become a British subject, but I could never become an Englishman, even though my name is of English origin. That’s a special and peculiar characteristic of this country. Not simply citizens of the United States, but Americans. In their respective homelands the English and the Irish have hated each other for centuries, but here in America they marry and produce more Americans. I myself am a mixture of English, Irish, German and French stock. The point is that these languages, like you, come from all over the world.Īmerica is a mixture it always has been and, God willing, it always will be. Time doesn’t permit me to salute you in the other 79 languages that are spoken here in Los Angeles – Vietnamese, Swahili, Mandarin, Russian, Korean, Hindi, Portuguese and scores of others. The same idea spoken in four different languages: English, Spanish, French and Bahasa Indonesia. President, University of Southern California Brave New America An address to 5,000 newly-sworn citizens of the United States at the Los Angeles Convention Center
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