The Last Lecture

Nancy and I are honored to be invited to this convention tonight to spend this special moment with you, and I'm addressing the Republican convention for the last time as president. So I'm very grateful to all of you in this room.

Whenever I hear someone say that I became president on January 20, 1981, I feel that I must correct myself, because, I did not become president of the United States by myself, I was only authorized to temporarily run an institution called the presidency, which belongs to the people.

I have prayed many times to thank all the Americans who have given me this trust, and tonight, please accept again our - Nancy's and my - heartfelt thanks for this special moment in our lives.

You have just added to this honor with a heartfelt tribute, and I'm just an ordinary person, so it's a little bit of a compliment to hear others praise our accomplishments. But tonight, let us first remember that it is the 245 million American citizens who are truly worthy of praise and who make up the first four words of our Constitution, the greatest four words of all: the American people.

The American people, who have withstood great challenges, saved us from the depths of national disaster, built our great economic strength, and revived our country's international reputation, are the exceptional people, the Americans, as they are called. So if we are to honor anyone tonight, it should be to the heroes and heroines who dot this land, the doers, the dreamers and the builders of a new life. Without them, our glorious practice in democracy would have been nothing.

Lately, we often hear people say that it is the time for reform. Ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you kindly again that we stand for reform.

We have rolled up our sleeves since January 1981, we have been hopeful and never discouraged, we have challenged the failed policies of the past because we believe that what makes a society great is not the amount of promises its government makes, but simply the progress its people make, and that is the reform we have undertaken.

We believe that lasting peace can only be achieved by strength and not by the goodwill of our adversaries.

We are legitimately skeptical of the government to stop it from going too far, but we are happy to use its power when it helps improve the lives of our citizens.

Raising taxes is not an inherent power of the federal government, and we believe that inflation is callous to the poor, the young and the old.

We respect the view of values that bind us together as a family or as a nation.

That's our ideal. All of you here, and those like you who are watching and listening to this conference tonight, are dedicating yourselves to the realization of that ideal. You are not half-hearted cowards, and your actions are not just for a campaign, but for a cause, and you represent a kind of man, the most outstanding fighter for free government I have ever known.

I know I've said this before, but I believe that God placed this land between two oceans, that special people from all over the world discovered it, that these people came to this land far from their homeland because of their love of freedom, and that it became a dazzling light of freedom that illuminated the whole world.

Imagination is our gift, and I want to tell you what a little boy thought when he sent me a letter shortly after I was inaugurated that said, "I love America because in America anyone can join the Boy Scouts if they want to. I love America because in America you can be whatever you want to be, and you can be whatever you want to be if you have the ability. I love America because in America there are about two hundred different flavors of ice cream to choose from."

This is the truth in the eyes of a child. Freedom of association, freedom of belief, full of hope, and access to opportunities is, for this child, a choice between two hundred different flavors of ice cream.

This is America, the America that everyone, men and women alike, fantasizes about giving hope. Because of this, we are a magnet for the world, attracting people who risked their lives to cross the Berlin Wall, who risked their lives to cross the rough seas in a boat to come here.

This land and its people, and the freedom that binds them together - these are the things that allow America to soar high into the clouds where freedom and hope can be seen.

When our children and grandchildren follow the trail of our lives, I hope they will understand that we were trying to pass our country on to them as perfectly as possible. A country where integrity, tolerance, generosity, faithfulness, courage, knowledge, justice and piety are revered.

That's what I think, and I thank God that I've lived a good and long life, so that when I'm in Washington packing my bags before I leave office, I don't think I like people talking about how I'm at the end of my days and nearing the end of my years.

Twilight? There is no twilight in America.

Here, the sun rises every day, and there are new opportunities everywhere to weave all kinds of dreams.

Twilight? That's impossible, because I freely admit that sometimes I think I'm still a lad, racing my brother to see who can run down the hill to the little cove under the Rock River railroad bridge where I can swim first.

You know, no day is better than a new day, and in our country it means that some kind of miracle will happen to you.

And some kind of miracle did happen to me.

What a great time we had a few years ago when we lit a blazing fire, fueled by our passionate ideas and persistent beliefs, determined to make it burn all over America!

We were together fighting for a cause we loved, but we must not let the flame die out, or quit the fight, we must defend our freedom again and again and again and again!

But I say to you, if the flame fades, I am willing to leave my phone number and address, and as soon as you need a pawn, just say the word and I will be there - as long as there is a breath, as long as this lovely country of ours is still forging ahead in this most glorious hour.

Let the fire keep burning brightly! Then, when we shall meet God, looking back, we can say without shame that we did all we could, never leaving anything to chance.