FREEDOM. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO US? IF SOMEONE TODAY FULFILLED OUR GREATEST MATERIAL DESIRES BUT TOOK AWAY OUR VOTE AND OUR VOICE IN COMMUNITY AND CIVIL MATTERS, WOULD WE CONSIDER OURSELVES TRULY FREE? IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, ALL POLITICAL FREEDOMS WERE NOMINALLY IN PLACE, YET OUR FAMILIES WENT HUNGRY AND WE WERE DENIED THE ENJOYMENT OF THE EARTH'S BOUNTY, WOULD WE CONSIDER OURSELVES TYRANNIZED?

FREEDOM IS THUS NOT STRICTLY ABOUT RIGHTS; IT IS EQUALLY ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY. FREEDOM, IN FACT, IS A STATE OF BEING RESULTING FROM THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE ENJOYMENT OF RIGHTS AND THE FULFILLMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY. THIS BALANCE - THIS PEACE - CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD. AS A CHRISTIAN, I BELIEVE IN THE POSSIBILITY FOR HUMAN FREEDOM. AS A SOUTHERNER AND DESCENDENT OF SLAVES, I KNOW OF THE GROSS INEQUITIES AND IMBALANCES IMPOSED BY THE DENIAL OF RIGHTS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR WRONGS AND INJUSTICE.

YOU SEE, MY FAMILY - MOTHER, FATHER, SEVEN BROTHERS AND TWO SISTERS - LIVED ON A FARM IN MARION, WHICH IS NORTH OF HERE, NEAR THE BORDER THE BORDER WITH NORTH CAROLINA. THERE WAS ALWAYS A WHOLE LOT OF HARD WORK TO DO. MY PARENTS DID NOT BELIEVE IN IDLE TIME AND, BY INSISTING THAT WE DO OUR FAIR SHARE OF THE FARM WORK, THEY HELPED INSTILL IN US THE VALUE OF HARD WORK. WE WERE TAUGHT TO BELIEVE IN GOD AND TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. WE WERE TAUGHT TO HONOR OUR FATHER AND MOTHER AND WE NEVER DOUBTED THAT THEY DESERVED THE HONOR WE GAVE THEM.

WE ALSO LEARNED THE VALUE OF MONEY BY HAVING TO EARN IT OURSELVES. OUR FARM WAS ABOUT 200 ACRES AND ON IT WE GREW TOBACCO AND RAISED LIVESTOCK. I CAN REMEMBER TOILING IN THE TOBACCO FIELDS IN THE SWELTERING HEAT OF A SOUTH CAROLINA SUMMER - AND FOLKS, BELIEVE ME, YOU HAVEN'T FELT HEAT UNTIL YOU'VE FELT SOUTH CAROLINA HEAT. I REMEMBER PICKING ROWS OF TOBACCO, WHICH SEEMED A MILE LONG, AND THINKING THERE IS NO WAY I COULD MAKE IT TO THE END OF THE ROW. I WOULD SAY "DADDY, I DON'T THINK I CAN MAKE IT," AND HE'D SAY "BUT SON, YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE IT OR YOU WILL NEVER MAKE IT IN LIFE." SO I DID IT, I MADE IT TO THE END OF THE ROW BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO QUIT. I'M NOT A QUITTER, BUT IT TOOK MY FATHER TO BRING THAT OUT IN ME. YOU ALL KNOW THE SAYING THAT "QUITTERS NEVER WIN AND WINNERS NEVER QUIT." WE'VE ALL HEARD THAT BEFORE, BUT IT'S TRUE.

THE ESSENCE OF AMERICA'S SUCCESS IS FOUND IN A STAUNCH BELIEF IN EARNING ONE'S KEEP, BEING AN ASSET RATHER THAN A BURDEN TO OTHERS AND IN OBSERVING THE BALANCE BETWEEN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. I LEARNED THIS IN MY LIFE AT A YOUNG AGE. MY BELOVED FATHER, JAMES S. WILLIAMS, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE IN 1985, AND MY BELOVED MOTHER, THELMA WILLIAMS, TAUGHT MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS AND ME THESE SAME VALUABLE LESSONS. THEY TAUGHT US BY WORD AND EXAMPLE NOT TO SEE LIFE AS A BITTER STRUGGLE. THEY TAUGHT US THAT THERE IS GOOD AND BAD IN PEOPLE OF ALL RACES AND THAT WE SHOULD KEEP OUR HEARTS OPEN TO THE GOODNESS OF OTHERS UNTIL THEY GIVE US REASON TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE.

LIFE IN EVERY ERA AND FOR EVERY PERSON OR GROUP HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MIXTURE OF GOOD AND EVIL, JOY AND SORROW, CAUSE FOR HOPE AND CAUSE FOR DESPAIR. UNDENIABLY, SLAVERY - A QUITE VISIBLE AND UGLY LACK OF FREEDOM WAS INHUMANE AND UNJUST, BUT WE CAN LOOK BACK NOW AND SEE HOW OUR ANCESTORS, WHETHER SLAVE OR MASTER, WERE ABLE TO TRIUMPH OVER THAT ADVERSITY. BOTH WERE SLAVES TO AN EVIL SYSTEM UNDER WHICH NOT ONLY WERE THEY DENIED THEIR FREEDOM, BUT ALSO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES.

I BELIEVE IN THE WORDS "WE SHALL OVERCOME." OVERCOMING IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN PLACED ON THE EARTH TO DO, BUT THERE IS A TIME AND A SEASON FOR EVERYTHING. THERE IS A PLACE IN LIFE FOR BEING CONCERNED ABOUT EVIL IN THE HEARTS OF OTHERS. BUT THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS HOW WE DEAL WITH THE EVIL THAT DWELLS WITHIN OUR OWN HEARTS. AS LONG AS THERE IS EVIL WITHIN US, WE NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT OUR WOULD-BE OPPRESSORS. REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID TO THOSE THAT WOULD STONE THE WOMAN ACCUSED OF ADULTERY - "LET YOU WHO IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE." HOW WE CONDUCT OUR LIVES WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR OWN SIN IS THE IMPORTANT THING.

THE GERMAN PHILOSOPHER KIERKEGGARD ONCE REMARKED THAT THE FUNDAMENTAL CHOICE IN EVERYONE'S LIFE IS NOT "THE CHOICE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL," BUT THE CHOICE BY WHICH WE BRING THEM INTO EXISTENCE FOR OURSELVES. THE SAME IS TRUE OF THE CHOICE TO SUMMON FREEDOM AND INVOKE LIBERTY IN OUR LIVES. WE DO NOT CHOOSE BETWEEN PREDETERMINED ABSOLUTES OF LIBERTY AND TYRANNY. WE CHOOSE TO BRING THOSE THINGS UPON OURSELVES BY THE PERSONAL CHOICES WE MAKE IN LIFE. IF, BY MORAL DEFAULT (COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS IGNORANCE) WE CHOOSE TO SMOKE TWO PACKS OF CIGARETTES PER DAY, ARE WE NOT SUMMONING THE OPPRESSION OF POOR HEALTH? SIMILARLY, MY FELLOW AMERICANS, WHEN WE NEGLECT OUR CIVIC DUTY AND FIND THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME A BLOATED, FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE LEVIATHAN, FESTERED OVER WITH CORRUPTION AND FRAUD, HAVE WE NOT INVOKED TYRANNY ON OUR LAND?

IF WE WANT TO ENJOY TRUE FREEDOM, WE ABSOLUTELY MUST TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR LIVES. IN ANY ENDEAVOR, WHETHER IT BE THE CREATION OF GREAT WEALTH OR THE RAISING OF A SUCCESSFUL FAMILY, A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IS NEEDED, IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE, THEN DO IT AND ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES. DO NOT PLACE BLAME ON OTHERS WHEN IT IS YOU WHO ARE AT FAULT WHEN YOU FAIL IN YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES. IT IS EASY TO BLAME ANYONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF, BUT THAT LEADS YOU TO BECOME TYRANNIZED AND ENSLAVED TO LIES AND FALSEHOOD.

FREEDOM IS GREATLY AIDED BY TRUTH AND TRUTH IS A CONCEPT OF INFINITE POWER. I LIKE TO SAY THAT IT HAS A BIOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE OVER FALSEHOOD. BECAUSE TRUTH RESTS AT THE HEART OF EVERY MATTER. IT CAN EXIST WITHOUT FALSEHOOD. IT DOES NOT RELY ON THE ARTIFICE OF MAN. BUT FALSEHOOD NEEDS TRUTH TO EXIST. IT CANNOT LIVE ON ITS OWN. IT HAS NO VITALITY.

ON THE QUEST FOR FREEDOM, HISTORY STILL MARCHES ON, STEADILY, INEXORABLY AND WITHOUT HESITATION. AN IMBALANCE HERE IS OFFSET BY AN IMBALANCE THERE. BUT BALANCE IS WHAT WE SHOULD SEEK. ABOVE ALL WE SEEK A MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH THAT BALANCE CAN BE ACHIEVED. THE PRESS AND HOLLYWOOD ARE OBVIOUSLY FAILING TO TRANSMIT BALANCED VALUES. THE GOVERNMENT HAS SHOWN THAT IT CANNOT CURE WHAT AILS AMERICA AND THAT IT CANNOT BE RELIED UPON TO PROVIDE THE MORAL VISION TO ENSURE OUR SUCCESS AS A NATION.

BUT A MORAL VISION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH FOR AMERICA, AS THE RECENT ELECTIONS HAVE SHOWN. PEOPLE CARE ABOUT FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL. THEY CARE ABOUT HAVING SAFE SCHOOLS AND NEIGHBORHOODS AND PROVIDING THE BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. THE FOCUS MUST BE ON STRENGTHENING AND PROTECTING OUR FAMILIES AND BUILDING ON THE ABILITIES AND POTENTIAL OF ALL PEOPLE, NOT BUILDING UP THE GOVERNMENT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. THE GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PEOPLE, BUT IT MUST NOT DO WHAT THE PEOPLE CAN BEST DO FOR THEMSELVES. IT MUST EXERCISE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITSELF.

FREEDOM IS NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED. INDEPENDENCE TAKES WILL AND EFFORT. BUT BEYOND THAT, IT INVOLVES THE DUTY TO HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR. IF EVERYONE HERE IN THIS ROOM COULD MAKE ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, WOULD YOU BE HAPPY? NO, BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE NOTHING AND IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO ENJOY YOUR WEALTH. ALTHOUGH YOU'D BE THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, POVERTY WOULD NIP AT YOUR HEELS AND INDIGENCE AND DESPERATE ACTION WOULD HAUNT EVERY DARK CORNER. THEREFORE, FREEDOM CONSISTS NOT ONLY OF HELPING YOURSELVES, BUT HELPING OTHERS AS WELL.

IS IT BETTER TO GIVE OF WHAT YOU HAVE OR TEACH OTHERS TO GET WHAT THEY NEED? THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT IT IS BETTER TO TEACH A MAN TO FISH THAN TO GIVE HIM A FISH. THE BEST WAY TO HELP A PERSON TO HELP THEM HELP THEMSELVES. IF WE CAN BECOME COMMITTED TO THIS ONE GOAL, FREEDOM WILL SURELY BE STRENGTHENED IN THIS COUNTRY.

WE ALSO NEED LEADERSHIP THAT INVESTS ITS FAITH IN THE POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS OF ALL AMERICANS. A CAN-DO ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND ETHOS OF INDEPENDENCE HAS MADE THIS A GREAT NATION. HOWEVER, LATELY THESE HAVE BEEN SMOTHERED BY A BUREAUCRATIC, PATERNALISTIC GOVERNMENT. I BELIEVE THAT IF AMERICAN KNOW-HOW AND INITIATIVE ARE RELEASED FROM UNDUE FISCAL AND REGULATORY BURDENS, AMERICAN WILL BE A TRULY WORTHY LEADER OF THE WORLD.

I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN REVITALIZE OUR SOCIETY ONLY BY REINVIGORATING OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITY. WE NEED TO DEMAND AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS AND TO REALIZE HOW OUR ACTIONS AFFECT OUR FELLOW AMERICANS. WE MUST MAKE CRIMINALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR CRIMES AND ENCOURAGE ALL AMERICANS TO SHOULDER THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS CITIZENS.

MY VISION FOR AMERICAN SOCIETY AS THE YEAR 2000 APPROACHES REFERS BACK TO WISDOM THAT WAS UTTERED OVER 130 YEARS AGO BY THE GREAT AMERICAN STATESMAN, MR. LINCOLN -

"YOU CANNOT BRING ABOUT PROSPERITY BY DISCOURAGING THRIFT. YOU CANNOT STRENGTHEN THE WEAK BY WEAKENING THE STRONG. YOU CANNOT HELP THE WAGE EARNER BY PULLING DOWN THE WAGE PAYER. YOU CANNOT FURTHER THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN BY ENCOURAGING CLASS HATRED. YOU CANNOT HELP THE POOR BY DESTROYING THE RICH. YOU CANNOT KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE BY SPENDING MORE THAN YOU EARN. YOU CANNOT BUILD CHARACTER AND COURAGE BY TAKING AWAY A MAN'S INITIATIVE AND INDEPENDENCE. YOU CANNOT HELP MEN PERMANENTLY BY DOING FOR THEM WHAT THEY COULD AND SHOULD DO FOR THEMSELVES."

IN CLOSING I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A FEW WORDS SPOKEN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO BY A FORMER SLAVE WHO LATER WENT ON TO FOUND ONE OF THE PREEMINENT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY. IN 1897, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SAID "LEARN TO DO A COMMON THING IN AN UNCOMMON MANNER, TO DO A THING SO THOROUGHLY THAT NO ONE CAN IMPROVE ON WHAT YOU'VE DONE." WORK HARD, BE SMART, IMPROVE YOURSELF, SAVE YOUR MONEY, ACCUMULATE CAPITAL, BUY PROPERTY, CREATE WEALTH. I WOULD ONLY ADD THAT ONE SHOULD PERFORM ONE'S CIVIC DUTY AND BE EVER VIGILANT AGAINST THOSE WHO, UNDER THE AUSPICES OF LIBERALISM, WOULD BE OUR WORST CAPTORS. LET THE TRUTH LIVE AND BREATHE FREELY IN THIS LAND. FREEDOM IS YOURS FOR THE TAKING. JUST BE RESPONSIBLE WHEN YOU REACH FOR IT.

THANK YOU.