George
W. Bush
2005 Commencement Address at Calvin College
Grand Rapids, MI
May 21, 2005
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.)
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