In Washington -- well, this is a joyous occasion, so let me put it charitably -- (laughter) -- I think it’s fair to say our democracy isn’t working as well as we know it can. It could do better. (Applause.) And so those of us fortunate enough to serve in these institutions owe it to you to do better every single day.
And I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we can keep this idea of citizenship in its fullest sense alive at the national level -- not just on Election Day, not just in times of tragedy, but all the days in between. And perhaps because I spend a lot of time in Washington, I’m obsessed with this issue because that sense of citizenship is so sorely needed there. And I think of what your generation’s traits -- compassion and energy, and a sense of selflessness -- might mean for a democracy that must adapt more quickly to keep up with the speed of technological and demographic, and wrenching economic change.
I think about how we might perpetuate this notion of citizenship in a way that another politician from my home state of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson, once described patriotism not as “short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. That’s what patriotism is. That’s what citizenship is. (Applause.)
Now, I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I’m not going to offer some grand theory on a beautiful day like this -- you guys all have celebrating to do. I’m not going to get partisan, either, because that’s not what citizenship is about. In fact, I’m asking the same thing of you that President Bush did when he spoke at this commencement in 2002: “America needs more than taxpayers, spectators, and occasional voters, he said. “America needs full-time citizens. (Applause.) And as graduates from a university whose motto is “Education for Citizenship, I know all of you get that this is what you’ve signed up for. It’s what your country expects of you.
【奥巴马5月5日俄亥俄州立大学毕业演讲】相关文章:
★ 英语语调的意义
★ 纯正美语发音100个秘诀:第七章 发音基本功 逆向型同化
★ 春节英语祝福语
最新
2017-01-09
2016-11-10
2016-09-21
2016-09-18
2016-08-11
2016-08-11