1998.10.15 : Millennium Address at Hunter College, New York, New York

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I was thinking recently about the only place that seems more out of touch with reality than Washington - Hollywood. In particular, the way movie stories unfold. As you know, they often start in the present day and then flashback to the time when "it all began." Saving Private Ryan is only the most recent example. Well, in my movie - Braving Public Office - the first scene would show me sitting on a bench in Central Park thinking about the past.

Thinking about Hunter College in 1980. Thinking about all that has happened since I walked out of this remarkable educational institution in 1987, and how nothing would have happened if I hadn't walked in. That is what being here meant to me.

Together, we put Hunter - and thousands of young men and women - on the road to educational excellence, achievement and public service, there is no question that Hunter, and the faculty and students I met here, put me on the road to grateful appreciation of the academy and its role in building democracy.

So Tennyson was right when he penned the words, "I am a part of all that I have met." And I want you to know: The part of me that is Hunter College remains a guiding voice - and reservoir of invaluable experience - every place I go.

The place I've been most recently is Washington. Let me tell you a little bit about the last six years. When you become a Cabinet Secretary, your life changes in big ways and small. Suddenly you're being driven around in a big ugly car that gets lousy gas mileage - and won't fit into any known parking space in Manhattan. Your every waking hour is scheduled by people young enough to be your children. Every decision you makes wins you new friends - and costs you an equal number of old friends. The press wants your opinion on every conceivable matter - whether you know anything about the subject or not. You control a budget as large as most of the countries in the world - but only when members of Congress do what they're paid to do and pass your Appropriations Bill. And most important: If you're not careful, you can fall into the dangerous habit of looking down at your feet and thinking, . . . `hmmmm, I have pretty big shoes to fill.

I've come back to Hunter College to give the Millennium Address, and in doing so, I'm trying to fill the shoes of one of the true giants of progressive politics and feminism. Last year, Bella Abzug gave this speech. Bella not only had the heart of a New Yorker; she had a New York-sized heart. Big, courageous, salty, and brimming with wit and wisdom. She was a Hunter alum - and proud of it.

In a year when we're remembering the likes of Babe Ruth - and admiring a Yankee team that won 114 games, the loss of Bella Abzug reminds us that greatness grows in the soil of New York, and history lives in the spirit of New York heroes.

And that's why being here today reminds me of a story about a young man who made it to Broadway - sort of: That "good man," Charlie Brown.

One day Charlie, Lucy, Linus and Schroeder are lying on a baseball mound looking at clouds. Lucy says, "There's Madame Curie making a lifesaving discovery." Linus says, "There's Aristotle contemplating the nature of the universe." Schroeder says, "There's Beethoven penning the Ninth Symphony." Then they all look at Charlie Brown and ask him what he sees. He answers, "I was going to say a horsy and a doggie, but I changed my mind."

My point is: I won't try to compete with Bella Abzug. She was an original, and those of us who loved her - and learned from her - were her disciples. And as disciples, it is our duty to make sure that Bella Abzug's message of equality, justice and speaking truth to power is never forgotten.

Which raises this question: As we approach the new millennium, how do we make sure that our politics offers both power - and opportunity - to every American, especially women, children, minorities, working families, the disabled, new immigrants, gays and lesbians - all of whom, historically, have walked up to the door of opportunity and found it locked.

Today, all leaders - whether in politics, education or business - have a moral obligation to unlock that door - and make sure it stays unlocked. That's a truth we should all hold to be self-evident. But in addition to moral obligation, what about self-interest? For those of us in positions of leadership, is our ability to direct our nation's destiny so firmly within our grasp that we can afford to do anything less than what is right?

Isaiah Berlin, the brilliant social and political theorist who also died this year, tried to answer that question in his famous essay on Tolstoy's view of history: The Hedgehog and the Fox. The title comes from a line in an ancient Greek poem: "The Fox knows many things, but the Hedgehog knows one big thing."

There are a lot of ways to take this. Maybe it was meant as advice for Coach Parcels. One good defense beats any kind of offense. Or maybe it was an early prediction of our modern tendency to favor specialization.

According to Berlin, Tolstoy desperately wanted to be a hedgehog. He wanted to see and understand the world according to a central vision - one universal organizing principle that would explain the direction of history. But as luck would have it - he had the soul of a fox, divining from his deep understanding of human relationships a mosaic world of unrelated experiences and beliefs that did not fit into any single precept.

This led Tolstoy to draw two important conclusions: First, no individual - even a Napoleon - can control the course of human events. And second, to paraphrase Berlin's critique of Tolstoy, "the higher we are in the pyramid of authority, the farther we must be from its base - the ordinary men and women whose lives are the actual stuff of history." In other words, it is the will of nations - as expressed in the countless actions, thoughts, loves, dreams and beliefs of people - not the will of kings or presidents or CEOs that ultimately force change and move history.

For one thing, it means that no one's life is insignificant or without meaning. Each of us can - and does - make a difference. That is why every year I tell students that public service and good citizenship are critically important. Secondly, as we enter the new millennium we must strengthen the base of the pyramid - the millions of Americans who are raising families and quietly going about the business of living their lives. We must strengthen them with the education, skills, technology and self-confidence they need to assure their own happiness and prosperity.

We've already gone a long way toward reaching that goal. But it could not - and did not - happen overnight.

Eighteen years ago - almost to the day - I said this in my inauguration speech as President of Hunter College: "My generation was shaped by three great movements - for civil rights, for peace, for women. In the 1980s we will re-evaluate these movements and perhaps restructure them." We did. And not just here, but around the world.

The Cold War ended because statism - the idea that government could control the economy - collapsed under the weight of its own failures. Even China, which still calls itself Communist, has opened itself up to free enterprise, private ownership and a civil code.

Some of the move away from statism even washed up on our own shores. In my 1980 address I noted that "we already know the broad outlines of the critical discussions that must take place about the role of government." In the years that followed, those discussions became a national debate about how to be fiscally responsible without breaking sacred promises to our most vulnerable citizens, a debate that eventually led to a government shutdown - and then to last year's historic budget compromise.

Also in my 1980 address I said that, "A woman in power must bring new sensitivity to her position. We are expected to foster change - to humanize the institutions for which we are responsible."

We brought our concerns about childcare, health care, pay equity, and discrimination - in all its forms - from the streets where we protested, to the suites of power where we became not just leaders in government, business and education - but thinkers, role models and decision-makers. We've been the firm hand inside the velvet glove - changing institutions by making them more family-friendly and respectful of women.

So, just as I hoped on that October day 18 years ago, the 1980s became a time of re-evaluation and restructuring, and, frankly, a time of resistance to certain policies that many of us felt were wrong at best - and mean spirited at worst. Nevertheless, the die was cast - the role of government was changing, and there was no going back.

In the 1990s - and especially since President Clinton took office - the age of ideological rigidity ended. The comfortable assumptions of both the left and the right were discarded - and a tacit understanding developed that neither party had a monopoly on good ideas. This was the right choice for political leaders to make. But it was also the only choice to make. The American people were no long willing to buy into the notion that government always knows best. But neither were they willing to buy into the notion that government is the enemy, or that the proper response to the weak and vulnerable is: Tough luck.

So we found a middle ground. Some are calling it the "Third Way." But I prefer to think of it as a pragmatic strategy born of real experience with social and economic policies - experience accumulated over three decades. This strategy has led to unprecedented economic prosperity; the first budget surplus in almost 30 years; and genuine consumer confidence and optimism about the future. Like the Carly Simon song says, "These are the good old days."

But they are not days that have left us searching for work to do - or great questions to answer. In fact, the end of the millennium poses a problem that we haven't had to confront for at least two decades: What are the right policies for our country during good times?

Or do we plan with an eye toward future lean years; toward changing demographics as baby boomers move toward retirement; and toward our solemn obligation to help Americans go as far as their talent and hard work will take them.

The answer is obvious - we plan. That's why the President is calling for saving Social Security first, and working out a long-term solution for Medicare. Together, these programs changed what it means to grow old in America - and have come to define us as a country. They've brought dignity those who fought our wars. And they honor our parents and grandparents by safeguarding their independence.

More than any other government programs, Social Security and Medicare remind us that this is a great and good and decent country. So, over the next two years, we must do all that is necessary to preserve them for future generations.

The need to plan is also why we're investing in science and research - and calling on Congress to approve a 50 percent increase over five years in the budget of the National Institutes of Health.

It's why the President launched his Initiative on Race - and set a goal of eliminating racial health disparities in six critical areas by 2010.

And why for the last six years, the guiding principle of this Administration has been to use the levers of government to build opportunity, empower communities, strengthen families, encourage prevention, and promote racial justice and harmony.

Not from the top down. Not from the perspective of government as national nanny. But from the base of the pyramid - the soul of our nation - up.

That's what we are trying to do with welfare reform. Yes, we changed the rules. Yes, we demanded responsibility. But we also brought the dignity of work to millions who had never experienced it. Look at the results. In most of the country, caseloads are at record lows. Welfare offices have been turned into job placement offices. And if the economy dips, former welfare recipients will be treated just like any other American who loses his or her job during a downturn. They will have our nation's empathy and support - because they are respected workers.

We've also been intellectually honest by recognizing that if we're going to demand work - then we're going to have make work pay. And we have.

By raising the minimum wage. By expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit. By passing Family and Medical Leave - so working adults can take time off to care for a sick child or aging parent. And by creating our Children's Health Insurance Program - which will insure up 5 million uninsured child

Some of these children are Medicaid eligible and just aren't enrolled. Others are children of parents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid - but not enough to afford private health insurance. We want to enroll every one of these 5 million children. But we're not going to be satisfied until all 10 million of our nation's uninsured children have the health care they need - when they need it.

Another tool we've put in the hands of citizens to help them write their own destiny is knowledge about prevention. The vast majority of premature deaths are due to the way we live our lives. In particular, smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity. So, from birth to old age, we're getting the message out: The way to live a longer and healthier life is to prevent disease before it strikes.

That message is being heard. Childhood immunization rates have reached a record high - while the infant mortality rate is at an all-time low. Just last week we were able to announce that AIDS is no longer among the top ten causes of death in the United States. The overall death rate from cancer is also falling. Not enough. But it's down. And so is the teen birthrate - down for the sixth straight year.

So prevention works. It's the first line of defense - or more accurately, self-defense - in the fight for good heath.

A little while ago I quoted Tennyson. The quote came from Ulysses. You might recall another line from the same poem: "Come my friends. T's not too late to seek a newer world." It's the perfect line for today because that is what the next millennium must really be about - seeking a newer world.

No matter how far we've come, what we take on faith today has a way of fading into memory tomorrow. To take just one whimsical example, music that was considered cutting edge around the time I gave my inaugural address, today might be used to sell minivans or retirement cruises.

The important question is: What will go from revolutionary to routine - and from unimaginable to indispensable - in the 21st century?

I'm no Nostradamus. But this much seems certain. Changes in communication, technology and life expectancy will give ordinary Americans greater control over our nation's future than even Tolstoy could have imagined.

What does this kind of change imply for great colleges like Hunter? In 1980 I said, "Hunter must be uniquely sensitive to the world it is part of. That implies predicting change and responding to it in such a way that we are enriched, rather than impoverished, by whatever the future holds." That's even truer today. The primary responsibility of Hunter is to prepare its students to face change - and make change - in the next century.

Many of you may be thinking: Isn't preparing students for change what Hunter and other universities have always done? My answer is: Yes and no.

Yes, universities have always trained one generation to build on the accomplishments of the preceding generation. But young people graduating from Hunter in the next millennium - and some may be in this room - will be riding a social and economic treadmill that's gone from brisk walk to fast run. That means today's students will have to think quicker. Have a better grasp of science and technology. Understand and respect the histories of cultures not their own. Prepare for a life of numerous career changes. And adapt to an increasingly unforgiving global economy. All the while trying to find the time - and summoning the wisdom - to prepare their own children for a world that will be even faster moving than their own.

But frankly, increasing the knowledge base and adaptability of students is not the biggest challenge universities - and our nation as a whole - faces.

The bigger challenge is to prepare the leaders of next millennium to use knowledge as a guide - but not a substitute - for judgment and morality. How, for example, do we make sure that our science never gets ahead of our ethics - or that our belief in progress never gets ahead of our belief in good citizenship?

The problem is not intellectual advancement. No one believes in the importance of supporting research and discovery - the creation of knowledge - more than I do. I have long advocated greater scientific literacy for all Americans. In particular, we need a Congress that's literate in science. Still, all knowledge and discovery must be tempered with human values, restraint, tolerance, honesty and plain decency.

This Tolstoy believed to the bone. And so do I. After all, we're only three years away from 2001 - the year another author, Arthur C. Clarke, turned into a metaphor for technology run amuck. That must not be our destiny. And it won't be if we make the next millennium a shining moment of morality and service to humanity.

I want to return one last time to my 1980 inaugural address. I said in those remarks, "I look at a profile of our students and am reminded that Hunter is New York." Well, two decades later I can say, Hunter is more than New York. Hunter is America. America at the millennium. Multi-cultural. Pro-women. Inspired. Robust. Intellectually curious. Leading. Changing. Ascending. Striving to do right. Doing right.

So as we stand at the threshold of the next century, it's worth reflecting once more on Isaiah Berlin's famous essay written from the middle of this century. At this moment of peace and prosperity - as we get ready to celebrate the millennium - America itself is a Hedgehog.

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