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REMARKS BY:     DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN          
                SERVICES
PLACE:          National Archives, Washington, D.C.
DATE:           September 18, 1995

Governor Carlin, Judge Sporkin, District Director [William] Carroll, families, friends, and, our newest citizens of the United States:

My congratulations to all of you.

How fitting that we have gathered at this national treasure to celebrate not only the promises made by our Constitution -- but also their fulfillment -- expressed so eloquently in your dreams -- the dreams of our newest citizens.

It began with "We the people" -- three simple, yet powerful, words that launched a nation.

"We the people": different cultures and colors; regions and religions; ethnicities and economic backgrounds -- all woven together into a beautiful tapestry that we call America.

Oscar Handlin once said: "I thought [I'd] write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history."

It is your history -- our history.

It is the history of brave women and men -- young and old, rich and poor -- who faced down often insurmountable odds -- and rose up to build their hopes and their homes; their families and their futures.

It is the history of Albert Einstein and Martina Navratilova.

It is the history of my Lebanese grandparents who came to this country at the turn of the century and worked hard all their lives -- passing down to me a fierce pride in our heritage.

And, it is the history of Dr. Gerty Cori, who came here from Prague, took her oath of citizenship, and became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology.

I'm talking, of course, about the history of good citizens.

And, that is the challenge I pose to you today -- to be good citizens.

Because, whether you started in Chile or China, in Italy or Iran -- one long journey comes to a close here today -- as another adventure, even more challenging, awaits you.

Like you, our founders were inspired by the awesome possibilities of this great land.

They risked their lives for a noble ideal -- Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But what they passed down to us was not just a document, but a democracy -- a living, breathing democracy -- a flexible system of self-rule that has allowed our history to become a steady march of progress -- from the Bill of Rights to Civil Rights to Women's rights.

The American Dream is a promise of freedom and opportunity.

It's a promise that says to each and every one of you, "If you work hard and play by the rules, you and your families can hold fast to freedom and security, opportunity and dignity."

But, that is only part of the story.

Because, as Thomas Jefferson said: "Eternal vigilance is the price of Freedom."

For every opportunity, there is an obligation.

For every right, there is a responsibility.

For every victory, there is a voyage.

Because, citizenship is not a passport or a voter registration card.

It's far more than the road you traveled to get here or the wonderful ceremony you participated in today.

Citizenship is a lifelong commitment.

It's a commitment to vote -- to make your voices heard through the bullhorn of the ballot.

It's a commitment to take personal responsibility for your own lives -- to work hard, pay your taxes, and respect other human beings.

It's a commitment to obey our laws and play an active role in a democracy that allows you to help make them.

And, it's a commitment to your children -- We must teach the next generation good values -- American values -- values of right and wrong -- We must teach them that education is the key to the American Dream.

And, we must teach them to wear their cultural heritages like badges of honor while striving to become integral parts of this country.

But, your commitment to good citizenship must go even deeper than that.

Because, when you swore to "defend the Constitution," you promised not only to uphold our laws, but also to breath life into the democratic values that bind us -- more than laws -- as one people, one society.

And, when you swore to "perform work of national importance" you pledged to go well beyond what is legally required of you as taxpayers -- to do what is morally required of you as Americans.

In your jobs, your homes, and your neighborhoods, good citizenship is understanding that your life is inextricably tied to the lives of every other American.

In the face of our nation's greatest challenges, none of us can sit on the sidelines, satisfied that we are not making our problems worse.

We have a responsibility to make them better.

We have a responsibility to combat the forces of division -- to heal this country when it's in pain

and to build bridges of understanding that bring people together, instead of pulling them apart.

And, perhaps most important, we have a responsibility to reach out and inspire others -- family and friends, colleagues and neighbors -- to become the good citizens our country needs -- the good citizens every democracy must have.

That is my wish for you -- and my hope for our country.

Because, I believe that you are the promise of America the foundation of America, and the future of America.

I believe that you -- and your children and grandchildren -- are our future educators and engineers,

our future bankers and business owners, our future attorneys and astronauts, our future scientists and our future Cabinet Secretaries.

Year after year, countless Americans learn about good citizenship from people like you -- naturalized citizens who took the hard road here -- climbing mountain after mountain -- because you believed that America's destiny was directly connected to your own.

Today, you assume the only position in our democracy more important -- more powerful -- than President of the United States: you become a citizen.

And, I commend you -- your families and your friends.

So, before we leave here today, I hope that you will take just a minute to reflect with pride on all you have accomplished to reach this day.

I hope you will embrace that bright torch of citizenship that you have earned -- and use it to ignite your country, your globe, and all who inhabit it.

And, through it all, I hope you will be inspired by the words of that great American, the Nobel Prize winner author, Toni Morrison, who said:

"Grab this land! Take it, hold it, my sisters and brothers, shake it, squeeze it, turn it, twist it, kiss it, plow it, seed it, reap it, own it, build it, multiply it, and pass it on -- can you hear me? Pass it on!"

Thank you.