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+ | ====== 1991 Commencement Speech: Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States ====== | ||
+ | **Source:** // | ||
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+ | Thank you very, very much, Mr. Price. And thank you all very much. I certainly want to thank Christine Wood for the beautiful anthem and Rev. Leahy for that lovely, moving prayer. | ||
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+ | You know it's humbling, indeed, to share this stage with your other awardees. As I sat here, I thought every single one of them would be better equipped to give all of you the graduation speech, but… and certainly deserved the honor more than I. Now I'm going to accept it. And I'm going to give the speech too. But I want you to know that I know that you know that they know more than I do. And I certainly want to thank Father DiUlio and the Board of Trustees for the honor of this degree. And it is a great honor. | ||
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+ | But I would have come today, degree or not, because I love commencements. I love seeing you, new graduates, preparing to get on with the next phase of your life, which no doubt includes one last patriotic beverage at the ' | ||
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+ | Now I have a deep admiration for Marquette and for many of your traditions, though I hope before the day is through someone will explain Sheepshead to me. And please hold the ping pong balls. | ||
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+ | Actually, the real traditions of Marquette are the Jesuit traditions of service to God and man through education. Here at this fine university and in your host community, you live these traditions everyday. These traditions live in the sixty thousand hours of volunteer service you've given to your community, and in your tutoring programs for children and adults at local schools and libraries. And these traditions live especially in your ambitious Campus Circle Project which will build crucial bridges between town and gown by creating new housing, commercial development and jobs right here in Milwaukee. | ||
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+ | I've thought about this building bridges and about my visit here a lot over the last few weeks. You've been on my mind as I read and watched the reports of the tragic events in Los Angeles, and I thought what in the world can I say to you -- America' | ||
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+ | These are vital messages. But you invited the mother of five and grandmother of twelve here today. So as people join together to rebuild their shattered communities, | ||
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+ | And, the larger family we share -- our communities and society as a whole. Life can be rough. And we all cope with it in our own way. A lady who had raised eleven kids was once asked, knowing all she knew, what was the one piece of advice she could give new parents. And she thought and she said, "If your child wants to lick the beater on the mixer, shut off the motor before you give it to him." So I'm under no illusions about the nature of family life. You've got to have a sense of humor because it's hard work. It's aggravation. And right now most of you are probably as interested in family matters as those two guys in " | ||
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+ | Yet, I believe your true happiness in life will be determined by the fulfillment you receive from those who need your love. For those who need your love, it is crucial that you put success at home first. Listen to these statistics. I know, we all hate statistics. I feel exactly the same way as Mrs. Robert Taft who said the only one she could remember was that if all the people who fell asleep in church were laid end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. | ||
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+ | __Fortune Magazine__ ran a piece a couple of years ago called "Why Grade A Execs Get an F as Parents." | ||
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+ | There' | ||
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+ | Our families taught us respect for ourselves and others. How to love and be loved. How to accept responsibility, | ||
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+ | Now consider this: fifty years ago -- this is my crowd over here, they' | ||
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+ | Ironically, it was also in Los Angeles seven weeks ago that I met a young man who provided hope in the face of these hopeless statistics. It was there I met and heard Romulus Johnson -- one of the most articulate, amusing and inspiring young people I'd ever met -- deliver perhaps the most important message of all. | ||
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+ | Romulus is a freshman at Lewis and Clark College; and what he had to overcome to get there. When he was three, his half brother shot and killed his mother. His alcoholic father moved what was left of the family so often that Romulus attended seven elementary schools and lived in more homes than he could recall. Including the back seat of a car and a trailer that had no electricity or running water. All of life seemed to be stacked against him. | ||
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+ | Romulus said he couldn' | ||
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+ | You'll have to reach out, but never very far, because there are people like Romulus everywhere. | ||
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+ | Just ask the people in Los Angeles who put aside their own anger and frustration to fight fires and save their neighbors' | ||
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+ | Remember, at the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a spouse, a child, a parent or a friend. | ||
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+ | George Bush says -- now you didn't think I was going to come all the way out here and not mention the finest, most decent man in the country, did you? George Bush says that any definition of success in America must include service to others. And that's the successful life I wish for each and every one of you. | ||
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+ | Thank you again for letting me be part of this wonderful day. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. |