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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		Westminster College Commencement, Salt Lake City, Utah
DATE:		May 29, 1999

Through your accomplishments, you graduates have proven to be the heirs to the spirit of the west. And as a former professor, I'm especially pleased to be here to share my thoughts about our shared future. I'm reminded of the time another educator, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, boarded a train in Washington's Union Station. In the general commotion, the famous judge promptly lost his ticket. The conductor immediately recognized him and said, "Don't worry Justice Holmes, I know that when you find your ticket you'll mail it in to the company." "Mr. Conductor," Holmes replied slowly and deliberately, "the question isn't 'Where's my ticket?' but 'Just where am I supposed to be going?'"

As new graduates, whether undergraduate or graduate, I'm sure that all of you have been asking yourselves pretty much the same question: With a new degree in hand, where do I go from here? And what course do I follow now? Because we live in a time of unprecedented political, economic and technological change, answering these questions won't be as easy for you-as it was for your parents and grandparents. From the building of the Internet to the tumbling of the Berlin Wall-from the dawn of the global marketplace to the death of the cold war-the world is not the same place it was even a decade ago. Thanks to this rapidly changing world, you will face choices and challenges defining your course that previous generations couldn't even dream of. But you're not alone.

Because in a rapidly changing world, nations, like individuals, must also define their course.and decide where they must go. That's why-as a society-we may need to ask ourselves the same question that Frederick Jackson Turner asked at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893-not long before Utah became a state. In his speech, Turner asked, "[now that the frontier is closed] what of American energy.continually demanding a wider field of exercise?" Turner was saying that if Americans weren't to become self- absorbed and indifferent, we need great goals-"a wider field of exercise".we need great goals to stir our hearts and our imaginations.we need great goals to channel our energy.we need great goals to bond us as a nation.

For decades, the settling of the frontier provided that grand goal. And being here in Salt Lake City-shadowed by the majesty of the Wasatch Mountains under the vast western sky-it's easy to see why the frontier would have such a grip on the American consciousness.

But the closing of the frontier meant that America no longer had a great goal or a grand cause- and many people were afraid that the pioneer spirit.the spirit that sustained the settlers as they forged new lives.and the spirit that guided the Pony Express Riders.would be lost. We find ourselves in a similar situation today: we've conquered the heavens; we've won the world wars and the cold war; and we're now the world's only remaining superpower. It would appear that, once again, there are no more great goals, no more grand causes. The flame of our pioneer spirit is once again being extinguished. And the results?

One of America's leading sociologists spent the last two years speaking with middle class Americans all across our country. The vast majority told him that they believed the end of the cold war has left America without a sense of purpose-and this lack of purpose is causing many people to become indifferent to anything that doesn't personally touch them.

If that's true, then perhaps Turner was right and we do need a grand cause to rally around. Fortunately, I think we have one. We have an emerging cause that's just as great, just as grand, just as good as settling the prairies or sending a man to the moon. That cause is the building of a civil society.A society where being an active citizen is more important than being a passive consumer...A society where the common good is the highest good...a society that needs the pioneer sprit. This is the society that you graduates must shape, and it's a society that can only be built on a foundation of tolerance and service.

I can think of no State that understands the importance of tolerance better than Utah. Earlier generations of your citizens took to the Mormon Trail specifically to escape prejudice and persecution. And since then you have welcomed refugees and new immigrants. As a nation, tolerance is deeply rooted in America. And we instinctively react with dismay-and a desire to help-when we see the murderous consequences of intolerance in places like Kosovo. But unfortunately, sometimes we find the worst kinds of intolerance right here in the American West, in places like Billings, Montana.

As you may remember, a few years ago a handful of skinheads began terrorizing the city's small Jewish and African-American communities. But the citizens of Billings didn't stand aside-they stood together-and they proved that the greatness of the west is found not only in its land.but in its people. In response to the violence, the people of Billings-of all races and faiths-began posting paper menorahs in their windows. The skinheads reacted by committing more acts of hate. The residents responded by posting more menorahs. And after a mass rally in opposition to the hate groups, the violence, and the skinheads actually disappeared.

The people of Billings set an example for all of us. If we want to banish hate crimes from the American landscape- once and for all-then each and every one of us must be firmly committed to the ideal of tolerance.We must be public in our opposition to all forms of racism and bigotry.We must stand up, speak out, and never give up-whenever intolerance threatens to scar the face of America.And we must understand that a civil society can never be built on the bedrock of intolerance.

Of course, tolerance, alone, can never produce a civil society-we must also be committed to the ideal of service. My career in public service actually began here in Utah thirty-five years ago, when I trained for the Peace Corps in Logan. What a glorious summer it was-how pure our patriotism and commitment to service. I loved my summer in Utah, and it will always be a part of me.

A recent national poll showed that more than any other group in America, Generation Xers-the very generation represented by so many of you graduates-hunger for a revitalization of community spirit. The only way to rekindle that spirit-some would argue the true pioneer spirit-is with the spark of service. I realize that I may be preaching to the choir. I know that about 30 percent of Westminster students-undergraduate and graduate-get involved in service projects through the Volunteer Center. You've done everything from plaster sanding at a Habitat for Humanity site, to cleaning out a trailer for the Utah Food Bank. And this college provides more "America Reads" tutors than any other college or university in Utah. I hope you continue this kind of investment in your local community and your nation- and continue to make a difference-after you leave Westminster.

Now I realize that as you begin, or continue, to struggle with the competing demands of professional and personal life-this won't be easy. When you're already trying to balance career and family responsibilities, it becomes all too easy to overlook your community responsibilities-but we can't overlook them if we want to build a civil society. Engage in public service; join community organizations; stay involved; do pro bono work; make a contribution; and carry the American dream to every corner of our nation-and the world. Don't get caught up in the usual excuses-that it doesn't matter; that you can't be bothered; that you already have a full time job; that you don't have the time. Strive to be a good person-as well as a great professional.

Because, ultimately, you won't be judged by your college degrees-but by your character. You won't be judged by what you earn-but by what you contribute. You won't be judged by who you know- but by who you are.

Undeniably, service and tolerance are the twin pillars of a civil society. But they're also something more. They also define true patriotism. It's a definition that those who fought in America's wars-those who we honor this Memorial Day weekend-would certainly understand.

Those brave individuals who died crossing the Rhine, in the mountains of Korea, or in the rice paddies of Southeast Asia, remind us that in Normandy there is a beach. A beach where the sand was once consecrated by the blood of American patriots. A beach named Utah. Personally, I can think of no name more fitting. It's not just because the sons-and daughters-of Utah have always responded so generously to their country's call to service. It's because the courage and commitment shown by those who left lasting footprints on Utah Beach is the ultimate expression of the true spirit of Utah.of the west.of the pioneer.of the patriot.

As I said at the opening of my remarks, as graduates of Westminster, this spirit is now the proud inheritance of each of you-regardless of where you call home, or what work you choose. And whether you realize it or not, each of you is also a pioneer-a pioneer of a new century.

One of you may discover new paths to better health.you may find a new route to understanding the origins of the universe.you may blaze new trails in the global struggle for peace and equality.you may join Dr. Wood in this golden age of biomedical research.you may create a new business, and new jobs, like Sam Skaggs.and, hopefully, you will care as much about vulnerable children as Karl Malone. I also hope that some of you will have the enthusiasm and leadership skills of President Stock.

But before you leave to chart new worlds, to map out a civil society, and to continue your service, I hope you'll take a moment to look at where you are right now. And as you do: May the natural beauty of Utah-its desert sunsets and mountain twilights-remind you that you can always find beauty in life-if you look for it. May the pioneer heritage of Salt Lake City remind you that there is always more to discover, always more to explore, and always more to learn. May the values you've been taught at Westminster College remind you that what's important is not how we make a living-but how we make a life. May you have the courage and the integrity to always tell the truth. May you have big dreams and pursue them with passion. May you have exciting, adventurous-uncomfortable lives-lives full of love, good health and great success. And, most of all, as you make your journey through the world, may you never lose your appreciation for the magic.the mystery.and the marvel of life. More than anything on this earth, I believe in each of you. So to all the members of the class of 1999-the final class of this century-god speed on your wondrous, joyful, miraculous journey as great citizens and patriots. Congratulations-and may the force be with you.

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