名人英语演讲（通用9篇）
丘吉尔曾受邀在某校毕业典礼上讲话。在校长冗长的介绍后，他只说了一句话：”永远，永远，永远不要放弃。”(Never, never, never give up.) 就走下讲台。这被称为历史上最短的毕业演讲。其实，这是一个误传。丘吉尔1941年在哈罗公学演讲时提到过这句话，但过程却并没有这么传奇。
每到毕业季，各大高校都会请来名人给毕业生做演讲。当这样的演讲多了，其内容不仅算不上传奇，甚至可能难免俗套。本期我们就来一起看看吧。
【名人演讲第一招：套近乎】
演讲之初先要营造轻松的氛围，演讲者们深谙这个道理，于是各种开场方式悉数登场。 Class of 20xx! I don't think I heard you. (Larry Page)
09届的同学们！你们的掌声在哪里？（拉里·佩奇）
Thank you for that nice reception and thank you Virginia for the incredible introduction. I thought some of them were about somebody else. (Tim Cook)
谢谢大家，谢谢弗吉尼亚（主持人）那么卖力地推销我。我一度以为她在介绍别人呢。（蒂姆·库克）
The first thing I would like to say is "thank you". Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honor, but the weeks of fear and nausea I've experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. (J.K. Rowling)
我想说的第一句话是”谢谢”。不仅因为哈佛给了我这样非同一般的荣誉，还因为一想到今天的演讲，我就紧张恐惧、茶饭不思，几个星期下来竟然减肥成功。（J·K·罗琳）
【名人演讲第二招：自嘲】
自嘲几乎是大部分名人演讲的必杀技。不过注意哦，这种自嘲有时候可能是一种变相的吹嘘。 I know exactly what it feels like to be sitting in your seat, listening to some old gasbag give a long-winded commencement speech. (Larry Page)
我十分清楚你们现在坐在台下的感受：听我们这些老家伙絮叨，老生常谈。（拉里·佩奇） Last year, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a classics student, graced this podium. The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy, but at least I am a nerd. (Steven Chu)
去年登上这个讲台的，是拥有亿万身家的小说家罗琳女士，她最早是一个古典文学的学生。前年站在这里的是比尔·盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、慈善家和电脑高手(nerd)。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我。虽然我不像他们那么有钱，但至少我也算一个高手(nerd还有”笨蛋”的意思)。（朱棣文）
I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me "Harvard's most successful dropout". I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class...I did the best of everyone who failed. (Bill Gates)
我为今天在座的各位同学感到高兴，你们拿到学位可比我容易多了。我值得称道的也只有被哈佛的校报称作”哈佛大学历史上最成功的辍学生”了。我想这大概使我有资格代表我这一类学生发言……在所有的失败者里，我做得最好。（比尔·盖茨）
【名人演讲第三招：哭穷】
功成名就的演讲者们肯定少不了要分享下自己过去辛酸的经历，好让台下的学子们“开心开心”。
(After I dropped out of Reed College) I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5-cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. (Steve Jobs)
（从里德学院退学后）我无法再住宿舍，所以只能借宿在朋友房间的地板上，我去捡5美分一个的可乐瓶，以此赚钱来购买食物，我会在每个周日走上7英里，穿过小城，到克利须那神庙，只为晚上那顿一周一次的美餐。（史蒂夫·乔布斯）
A mere 7 years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. (J.K. Rowling)
毕业7年之后，我遭遇了彻底的失败。我那极其短暂的婚姻走到了尽头，再加上失业，作为一个单身母亲，我沦落到穷困潦倒的境地，就差无家可归了。（J·K·罗琳）
I did everything. I shucked oysters, I was a hostess, I was a bartender, I was a waitress, I painted houses, I sold vacuum cleaners, I had no idea. And I thought I'd just finally settle in some job, and I would make enough money to pay my rent. (Ellen DeGeneres)
我那时什么工作都做，剥过牡蛎、做过迎宾、酒保、服务员、粉刷房子、卖吸尘器，我完全不知道自己想做什么。我只想随便找个工作糊口，能有钱付得起房租就行。（艾伦·德杰尼勒斯）
【名人演讲第四招：挫折与抉择】
几乎每个成功人士的背后，好像都至少有一次面临挫折和抉择，然后绝处逢生的经历。
[挫折篇]
I listened and waited for Professor Childs to say how well written my thesis was. He didn't. And so after about 45 minutes I finally said, "So. What did you think of the writing?"
我等待着希望听到蔡尔兹教授告诉我我的论文写得多么好。但他没有。于是等了45分钟后，我终于开口问，“那你怎么评价我的'写作呢？”
"Put it this way," he said. "Never try to make a living at it." (Michael Lewis)
“这么说吧，”他说，“千万不要靠这个谋生。”（迈克尔·刘易斯）
And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. (Steve Jobs)
那一年，我被炒了鱿鱼。你怎么可能被自己创立的公司炒鱿鱼？是这样的，在苹果快速成长的时候，我们雇了一个我觉得很有天分的家伙和我一起管理公司，最初几年，公司运转得很好。但后来我们对未来的看法发生了分歧，最终吵了起来。面对不可调和的分歧，董事会站在了他那一边。（史蒂夫·乔布斯）
And I thought, "What's the worst that could happen? I can lose my career." I did. I lost my career. The show was canceled after 6 years, without even telling me, I read it in the paper. The phone didn't ring for 3 years. I had no offers. Nobody wanted to touch me at all. (Ellen DeGeneres)
那时我想，最惨的会是什么呢？也就是失业吧。结果，我真的失业了。我的节目在做了6年后，没有告知我就停播了，我看了报纸才知道。家里的电话3年没有再响过，没人找我做节目，没人愿意提及我。（艾伦·德杰尼勒斯）
[抉择篇]
My employer at the time, Compaq Computer, was the largest personal computer company in the world. One CEO I consulted felt so strongly about it. He told me I would be a fool to leave Compaq for Apple (a small company then). (Tim Cook)
我当时的东家康柏公司是当时全球最大的个人电脑生产商。我咨询一位CEO朋友的意见，他坚定地说，我脑袋被驴踢了才会为了苹果（当时还是一个很小的公司）离开康柏。（蒂姆·库克）
I called up my father. I told him I was going to quit this job that now promised me millions of dollars to write a book for an advance of 40 grand. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "You might just want to think about that," he said. I didn't need to think about it. (Michael Lewis)
我打电话给我父亲，告诉他我要辞掉这个百万美元的工作来写一本只有4万美元预付款的书。电话那边沉默了很久。他说：“也许你该再考虑一下。”我根本不需要考虑。（迈克尔·刘易斯） I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year. I told my wife that I wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work. She told me I should go for it. (Jeff Bezos)
16年前，我萌生了创办亚马逊的想法。那时我刚刚30岁，结婚才1年。我告诉妻子想辞去工作，然后去做这件疯狂而且很可能失败的事情。她告诉我，我应该放手一搏。（杰夫·贝索斯）
【名人演讲第五招：温情回归】
每当提到自己的家人，演讲者们都是充满自豪感和温情的。此情此景，常常令人动容。 My dad was so full of life; anything with him was an adventure. (Randy Pausch)
我父亲是如此的充满生命力，与他在一起做任何事都是一种探险。（兰迪·波许）
A long time ago, in this cold September of 1962, there was a Steven's co-op at this very university. That co-op had a kitchen with a ceiling that had been cleaned by student volunteers. Picture a college girl named Gloria, climbing up high on a ladder, struggling to clean that filthy ceiling. Standing on the floor, a young boarder named Carl was admiring the view. And that's how they met. They were my parents. (Larry Page)
很久以前，1962年的寒冷9月，这座校园里有一家史蒂文消费合作社，学生志愿者负责打扫厨房的天花板。想象这样一幅场景：一位名叫格洛里亚的女大学生，爬上了高高的梯子，努力地打扫那脏兮兮的天花板。另一位名叫卡尔的寄宿生站在地上，对此情此景钦佩不已。这是他俩的初次邂逅。他们就是我的父母。（拉里·佩奇）
When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would be satisfied. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, "That's nice, but when are you going to visit me next." (Steven Chu)
我得到诺贝尔奖的时候，我想我妈妈会高兴。但是我错了。消息公布的那天早上，我给她打电话，她听了只说：“这是好消息，不过我想知道，你打算什么时候来看我？”（朱棣文）
【名人演讲第六招：引经据典】
他们演讲时说的话经常被我们拿来当励志名言，但其实呢，他们自己也需要励志名言。 Jimmy Stewart, as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie "Harvey" got it exactly right. He said: "Years ago my mother used to say to me, 'In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.'" Well, for years I was smart... I recommend pleasant. (Steven Chu)
电影《我的朋友叫哈维》中，斯图尔特扮演的艾尔伍德说得很对。他说：“多年前，母亲曾对我说：活在这个世界上，你要么做一个聪明人，要么做一个好人。”我做聪明人已经好多年了。但我推荐你们做好人。（朱棣文）
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. (Steve Jobs)
17岁的时候, 我读到一句话：“如果你把每一天都当作生命中最后一天去生活的话,那么有一天你会发现你是正确的。”“记住你即将死去”是我一生中遇到的最重要箴言。它帮我做出生命中的重要抉择。（史蒂夫·乔布斯）
One of the things he (Jon Snoddy) told me was to wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you. He said when you're pissed off at somebody and you're angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time. (Randy Pausch)
他（乔恩·史诺地）告诉我，给人们足够的时间，人人都会有让你惊讶和叹服的一面。他说，当你对别人怨恼愤怒时，你只是还没有给他们足够的时间。（兰迪·波许）
最后，本文将以这些演讲者原创或引用的语录作为结束语：
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
求知若渴，虚心若愚。（史蒂夫·乔布斯引用凯文·凯利）
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.
经验是你求之不得后的收获。（兰迪·波许）
Never lose the child-like wonder.
永远不要失去孩童般的好奇心。（兰迪·波许）
Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.
批评你的人是在告诉你他们仍然爱你关心你。（兰迪·波许）
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
人生就像故事：不在于长短，而在于质量，这才是最重要的。（J·K·罗琳引用塞内加） Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
精神错乱是指一遍遍地重复却期待不一样的结果。（蒂姆·库克引用爱因斯坦）
Be true to yourself and everything will be fine.
做真实的你，一切都会没事的。（艾伦·德杰尼勒斯）
helping every american with autism achieve their full potential is one of this administration’s top priorities. at the u.s. department of health and human services, we continue to strive to meet the complex needs of all people with autism spectrum disorders (asd) and their families. while there is no cure, early intervention is critical and can greatly improve a child’s development.
perhaps the biggest step we’ve taken to support those affected by autism and their families happened over a year ago, with the signing of the affordable care act. now, new insurance plans are required to cover autism screening and developmental assessments for children at no cost to parents. insurers will also no longer be allowed to deny children coverage for a pre-existing condition such as asd or to set arbitrary lifetime or annual limits on benefits.
also, thanks to the new law, young adults are allowed to stay on their family health insurance until they turn 26. for a young adult with autism spectrum disorder and their family, that means peace of mind. it means more flexibility, more options, and more opportunity to reach their full potential.
ultimately, there is more support for americans with autism than ever before. this means more promise of new breakthroughs that will help us understand autism even better. but in order to continue meeting the needs of people with autism, the combating autism act must be fully reauthorized. we still have a long way to go. working collaboratively with important partners, the affordable care act and the combating autism act will allow us to continue important research and develop and refine vital treatments.
there are still many unknowns. however, one thing is certain. we will continue to work harder than ever to find solutions and provide support to individuals with asd and their families. together, we can help reduce disparities and allow everyone to actualize their greatest potential.
kathleen sebelius is secretary of health and human services.
Foreign observers, including 692 Americans, considered this election to be a fair expression of the views of the Greek people.
The Greek Government has been operating in an atmosphere of chaos and extremism.
It has made mistakes.
The extension of aid by this country does not mean that the United States condones everything that the Greek Government has done or will do.
We have condemned in the past, and we condemn now, extremist measures of the right or the left.
We have in the past advised tolerance, and we advise tolerance now.
Greeks [sic] neighbor, Turkey, also deserves our attention.
The future of Turkey, as an independent and economically sound state, is clearly no less important to the freedom-loving peoples of the world than the future of Greece.
The circumstances in which Turkey finds itself today are considerably different from those of Greece.
Turkey has been spared the disasters that have beset Greece.
And during the war, the United States and Great Britain furnished Turkey with material aid.
Nevertheless, Turkey now needs our support.
Since the war, Turkey has sought financial assistance from Great Britain and the United States for the purpose of effecting that modernization necessary for the maintenance of its national integrity.
That integrity is essential to the preservation of order in the Middle East.
The British government has informed us that, owing to its own difficulties, it can no longer extend financial or economic aid to Turkey.
As in the case of Greece, if Turkey is to have the assistance it needs, the United States must supply it.
We are the only country able to provide that help.
I am fully aware of the broad implications involved if the United States extends assistance to Greece and Turkey, and I shall discuss these implications with you at this time.
One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion.
This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan.
Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, upon other nations.
To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion, the United States has taken a leading part in establishing the United Nations.
The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members.
In 20xx — not so long ago — a professor who was then at Columbia University took that case and made it [Howard] Roizen. And he gave the case out, both of them, to two groups of students. He changed exactly one word: "Heidi" to "Howard." But that one word made a really big difference. He then surveyed the students, and the good news was the students, both men and women, thought Heidi and Howard were equally competent, and that's bad news was that everyone liked Howard. He's a great guy. You want to work for him. You want to spend the day fishing with him. But Heidi? Not so sure. She's a little out for herself. She's a little 're not sure you'd want to work for her. This is the complication. We have to tell our daughters and our colleagues, we have to tell ourselves to believe we got the A, to reach for the promotion, to sit at the table, and we have to do it in a world where, for them, there are sacrifices they will make for that, even though for their brothers, there are not. The saddest thing about all of this is that it's really hard to remember this. And I'm about to tell a story which is truly embarrassing for me, but I think important.
Inaugural Address
On a frigid Winter's day, January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States. At age 43, he was the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected. He had won by one of the smallest margins of victory, only 115,000 popular votes. This is the speech he delivered announcing the dawn of a new era as young Americans born in the 20th century first assumed leadership of the Nation.
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge -- to convert our good words into good deeds in a new alliance for progress -- to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective -- to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request -- that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah -- to undo the heavy burdens...and let the oppressed go free.
And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation -- a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
John F. Kennedy - January 20, 1961
As Americans gather to celebrate this week, we show our gratitude for the many blessings in our lives. We are grateful for our friends and families who fill our lives with purpose and love. We're grateful for our beautiful country, and for the prosperity we enjoy. We're grateful for the chance to live, work and worship in freedom. And in this Thanksgiving week, we offer thanks and praise to the provider of all these gifts, Almighty God.
We also recognize our duty to share our blessings with the least among us. Throughout the holiday season, schools, churches, synagogues and other generous organizations gather food and clothing for their neighbors in need. Many young people give part of their holiday to volunteer at homeless shelters or food pantries. On Thanksgiving, and on every day of the year, America is a more hopeful nation because of the volunteers who serve the weak and the vulnerable.
The Thanksgiving tradition of compassion and humility dates back to the earliest days of our society. And through the years, our deepest gratitude has often been inspired by the most difficult times. Almost four centuries ago, the pilgrims set aside time to thank God after suffering through a bitter winter. George Washington held Thanksgiving during a trying stay at Valley Forge. And President Lincoln revived the Thanksgiving tradition in the midst of a civil war.
The past year has brought many challenges to our nation, and Americans have met every one with energy, optimism and faith. After lifting our economy from a recession, manufacturers and entrepreneurs are creating jobs again. Volunteers from across the country came together to help hurricane victims rebuild. And when the children of Beslan, Russia suffered a brutal terrorist attack, the world saw America's generous heart in an outpouring of compassion and relief.
The greatest challenges of our time have come to the men and women who protect our nation. We're fortunate to have dedicated firefighters and police officers to keep our streets safe. We're grateful for the homeland security and intelligence personnel who spend long hours on faithful watch. And we give thanks to the men and women of our military who are serving with courage and skill, and making our entire nation proud.
Like generations before them, today's armed forces have liberated captive peoples and shown compassion for the suffering and delivered hope to the oppressed. In the past year, they have fought the terrorists abroad so that we do not have to face those enemies here at home. They've captured a brutal dictator, aided last month's historic election in Afghanistan, and help set Iraq on the path to democracy.
Our progress in the war on terror has made our country safer, yet it has also brought new burdens to our military families. Many servicemen and women have endured long deployments and painful separations from home. Families have faced the challenge of raising children while praying for a loved one's safe return. America is grateful to all our military families, and the families mourning a terrible loss this Thanksgiving can know that America will honor their sacrifices forever.
As Commander-in-Chief, I've been honored to thank our troops at bases around the world, and I've been inspired by the efforts of private citizens to express their own gratitude. This month, I met Shauna Fleming, a 15-year-old from California who coordinated the mailing of a million thank you letters to military personnel. In October, I met Ken Porwoll, a World War II veteran who has devoted years of his retirement to volunteering at a VA medical center in Minneapolis. And we've seen the generosity of so many organizations, like Give2theTroops, a group started in a basement by a mother and son that has sent thousands of care packages to troops in the field.
Thanksgiving reminds us that America's true strength is the compassion and decency of our people. I thank all those who volunteer this season, and Laura and I wish every American a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend.
Thank you for listening.
i come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. i join you in this meeting because i am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: clergy and laymen concerned about vietnam. the recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and i found myself in full accord when i read its opening lines: "a time comes when silence is betrayal." and that time has come for us in relation to vietnam.
the truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
and some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. we must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. and we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. if it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.
over the past two years, as i have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as i have called for radical departures from the destruction of vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. at the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: "why are you speaking about the war, dr. king?" "why are you joining the voices of dissent?" "peace and civil rights don't mix," they say. "aren't you hurting the cause of your people," they ask? and when i hear them, though i often understand the source of their concern, i am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.
in the light of such tragic misunderstanding, i deem it of signal importance to try to state clearly, and i trust concisely, why i believe that the path from dexter avenue baptist church -- the church in montgomery, alabama, where i began my pastorate -- leads clearly to this sanctuary tonight.
Dare to compete. Dare to care. Dare to dream. Dare to love. Practice the art of making possible. And no matter what happens, even if you hear shouts behind, keep going.
It is such an honor and pleasure for me to be back at Yale, especially on the occasion of the 300th anniversary. I have had so many memories of my time here, and as Nick was speaking I thought about how I ended up at Yale Law School. And it tells a little bit about how much progress we’ve made.
What I think most about when I think of Yale is not just the politically charged atmosphere and not even just the superb legal education that I received. It was at Yale that I began work that has been at the core of what I have cared about ever since. I began working with New Haven legal services representing children. And I studied child development, abuse and neglect at the Yale New Haven Hospital and the Child Study Center. I was lucky enough to receive a civil rights internship with Marian Wright Edelman at the Children’s Defense Fund, where I went to work after I graduated. Those experiences fueled in me a passion to work for the benefit of children, particularly the most vulnerable.
Now, looking back, there is no way that I could have predicted what path my life would have taken. I didn’t sit around the law school, saying, well, you know, I think I’ll graduate and then I’ll go to work at the Children’s Defense Fund, and then the impeachment inquiry, and Nixon retired or resigns, I’ll go to Arkansas. I didn’t think like that. I was taking each day at a time.
But, I’ve been very fortunate because I’ve always had an idea in my mind about what I thought was important and what gave my life meaning and purpose. A set of values and beliefs that have helped me navigate the shoals, the sometimes very treacherous sea, to illuminate my own true desires, despite that others say about what l should care about and believe in. A passion to succeed at what l thought was important and children have always provided that lone star, that guiding light. Because l have that absolute conviction that every child, especially in this, the most blessed of nations that has ever existed on the face of earth, that every child deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential.
But you know that belief and conviction-it may make for a personal mission statement, but standing alone, not translated into action, it means very little to anyone else, particularly to those for whom you have those concerns.
When I was thinking about running for the United States Senate-which was such an enormous decision to make, one I never could have dreamed that I would have been making when I was here on campus-I visited a school in New York City and I met a young woman, who was a star athlete.
I was there because of Billy Jean King promoting an HBO special about women in sports called “Dare to compete.” It was about Title IX and how we finally, thanks to government action, provided opportunities to girls and women in sports.
And although I played not very well at intramural sports, I have always been a strong supporter of women in sports. And I was introduced by this young woman, and as I went to shake her hand she obviously had been reading the newspapers about people saying I should or shouldn’t run for the Senate. And I was congratulating her on the speech she had just made and she held onto my hand and she said, “Dare to compete, Mrs. Clinton. Dare to compete.”
I took that to heart because it is hard to compete sometimes, especially in public ways, when your failures are there for everyone to see and you don’t know what is going to happen from one day to the next. And yet so much of life, whether we like to accept it or not, is competing with ourselves to be the best we can be, being involved in classes or professions or just life, where we know we are competing with others.
I took her advice and I did compete because I chose to do so. And the biggest choices that you’ll face in your life will be yours alone to make. I’m sure you’ll receive good advice. You’re got a great education to go back and reflect about what is right for you, but you eventually will have to choose and I hope that you will dare to compete. And by that I don’t mean the kind of cutthroat competition that is too often characterized by what is driving America today. I mean the small voice inside you that says to you, you can do it, you can take this risk, you can take this next step.
And it doesn’t mean that once having made that choice you will always succeed. In fact, you won’t. There are setbacks and you will experience difficult disappointments. You will be slowed down and sometimes the breath will just be knocked out of you. But if you carry with you the values and beliefs that you can make a difference in your own life, first and foremost, and then in the lives of others. You can get back up, you can keep going.
But it is also important, as I have found, not to take yourself too seriously, because after all, every one of us here today, none of us is deserving of full credit. I think every day of the blessings my birth gave me without any doing of my own. I chose neither my family nor my country, but they as much as anything I’ve ever done, determined my course.
You compare my or your circumstances with those of the majority of people who’ve ever lived or who are living right now, they too often are born knowing too well what their futures will be. They lack the freedom to choose their life’s path. They’re imprisoned by circumstances of poverty and ignorance, bigotry, disease, hunger, oppression and war.
So, dare to compete, yes, but maybe even more difficult, dare to care. Dare to care about people who need our help to succeed and fulfill their own lives. There are so many out there and sometimes all it takes is the simplest of gestures or helping hands and many of you understand that already. I know that the numbers of graduates in the last 20 years have worked in community organizations, have tutored, have committed themselves to religious activities.
You have been there trying to serve because you have believed both that it was the right thing to do and because it gave something back to you. You have dared to care.
Well, dare to care to fight for equal justice for all, for equal pay for women, against hate crimes and bigotry. Dare to care about public schools without qualified teachers or adequate resources. Dare to care about protecting our environment. Dare to care about the 10 million children in our country who lack health insurance. Dare to care about the one and a half million children who have a parent in jail. The seven million people who suffer from HIV/AIDS. And thank you for caring enough to demand that our nation do more to help those that are suffering throughout this world with HIV/AIDS, to prevent this pandemic from spreading even further.
And I’ll also add, dare enough to care about our political process. You know, as I go and speak with students I’m impressed so much, not only in formal settings, on campuses, but with my daughter and her friends, about how much you care, about how willing you are to volunteer and serve. You may have missed the last wave of the revolution, but you’ve understood that the dot.community revolution is there for you every single day. And you’ve been willing to be part of remarking lives in our community.
And yet, there is a real resistance, a turning away from the political process. I hope that some of you will be public servants and will even run for office yourself, not to win a position to make and impression on your friends at your 20th reunion, but because you understand how important it is for each of us as citizens to make a commitment to our democracy.
Your generation, the first one born after the social upheavals of the 60’s and 70’s, in the midst of the technological advances of the 80’s and 90’s, are inheriting an economy, a society and a government that has yet to understand fully, or even come to grips with, our rapidly changing world.
And so bring your values and experiences and insights into politics. Dare to help make, not just a difference in politics, but create a different politics. Some have called you the generation of choice. You’ve been raised with multiple choice tests, multiple channels, multiple websites and multiple lifestyles. You’ve grown up choosing among alternatives that were either not imagined, created or available to people in prior generations.
You’ve been invested with far more personal power to customize your life, to make more free choices about how to live than was ever thought possible. And I think as I look at all the surveys and research that is done, your choices reflect not only freedom, but personal responsibility.
The social indicators, not the headlines, the social indicators tell a positive story: drug use and cheating and arrests being down, been pregnancy and suicides, drunk driving deaths being down. Community service and religious involvement being up. But if you look at the area of voting among 18 to 29 year olds, the numbers tell a far more troubling tale. Many of you I know believe that service and community volunteerism is a better way of solving the issues facing our country than political engagement, because you believe-choose one of the following multiples or choose them all-government either can’t understand or won’t make the right choices because of political pressures, inefficiency, incompetence or big money influence.
Well, I admit there is enough truth in that critique to justify feeling disconnected and alienated. But at bottom, that’s a personal cop-out and a national peril. Political conditions maximize the conditions for individual opportunity and responsibility as well as community. Americorps and the Peace Corps exist because of political decisions. Our air, water, land and food will be clean and safe because of political choices. Our ability to cure disease or log onto the Internet have been advanced because of politically determined investments. Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo ended because of political leadership. Your parents and grandparents traveled here by means of government built and subsidized transportation systems. Many used GI Bills or government loans, as I did, to attend college.
Now, I could, as you might guess, go on and on, but the point is to remind us all that government is us and each generation has to stake its claim. And, as stakeholders, you will have to decide whether or not to make the choice to participate. It is hard and it is, bringing change in a democracy, particularly now. There’s so much about our modern times that conspire to lower our sights, to weaken our vision-as individuals and communities and even nations.
It is not the vast conspiracy you may have heard about; rather it’s a silent conspiracy of cynicism and indifference and alienation that we see every day, in our popular culture and in our prodigious consumerism.
But as many have said before and as Vaclav Havel has said to memorably, “It cannot suffice just to invent new machines, new regulations and new institutions. It is necessary to understand differently and more perfectly the true purpose of our existence on this Earth and of our deeds.” And I think we are called on to reject, in this time of blessings that we enjoy, those who will tear us apart and tear us down and instead to liberate our God-given spirit, by being willing to dare to dream of a better world.
During my campaign, when times were tough and days were long I used to think about the example of Harriet Tubman, a heroic New Yorker, a 19th century Moses, who risked her life to bring hundreds of slaves to freedom. She would say to those who she gathered up in the South where she kept going back year after year from the safety of Auburn, New York, that no matter what happens, they had to keep going. If they heard shouts behind them, they had to keep going. If they heard gunfire or dogs, they had to keep going to freedom. Well, those aren’t the risks we face. It is more the silence and apathy and indifference that dogs our heels.
Thirty-two years ago, I spoke at my own graduation from Wellesley, where I did call on my fellow classmates to reject the notion of limitations on our ability to effect change and instead to embrace the idea that the goal of education should be human liberation and the freedom to practice with all the skill of our being the art of making possible.
For after all, our fate is to be free. To choose competition over apathy, caring over indifference, vision over myopia, and love over hate.
Just as this is a special time in your lives, it is for me as well because my daughter will be graduating in four weeks, graduating also from a wonderful place with a great education and beginning a new life. And as I think about all the parents and grandparents who are out there, I have a sense of what their feeling. Their hearts are leaping with joy, but it’s hard to keep tears in check because the presence of our children at a time and place such as this is really a fulfillment of our own American dreams. Well, I applaud you and all of your love, commitment and hard work, just as I applaud your daughters and sons for theirs.
And I leave these graduates with the same message I hope to leave with my graduate. Dare to compete. Dare to care. Dare to dream. Dare to love. Practice the art of making possible. And no matter what happens, even if you hear shouts behind, keep going.
Thank you and God bless you all.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pauntil there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.