Remarks to a graduation ceremony for GED students at Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13

June 8, 2005

It’s an honor to be with you today.

I’d like to start by congratulating each and every one of you.

Today’s ceremony is as much about what you’ve learned as the courage you’ve shown in going back into the classroom.

You are in good company.

Over the years Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 has offered adult education services to the people of this area.

In the thirty six years since it started IU 13 has seen more than 50,000 students come through its doors and sit at its desks.

Those who have gone before were very similar to you.

They represent a cross section of our area.

Every age group has been represented.

People from all walks of life and all nations – 70 countries in all – have been represented.

You all have the same goal: to improve yourselves through learning.

By earning your GED, you have put in the time and effort necessary to improve your lives.

This is a special night.

We’re celebrating an important step in your journey of lifelong learning.

When you receive your diploma tonight, new doors will open for you, new opportunities will arise.

All because you had the courage to take the first step.

For that you should be commended.

There’s a tendency in our culture to put a lot of stock in titles and positions.

Congressman.  Doctor.  Mayor.  Professor.  CEO.  President.

These are all titles that our culture views as important.

But they are not the things that make our culture strong.

Barbara Bush once said that “the future of this country does not depend so much on what happens in the White House, as what happens in your house.”

I think we look too often to those with fancy titles or in positions of power to lead us to the future.

What Mrs. Bush was driving at is that in a democracy people drive the future.

Leaders come and go.

But each one of you – the choices you make, the values you hold, the legacy you leave, the leaders you choose – shapes the future.

As I’ve thought about this and as I speak to graduating classes, it’s important to get back to basics.

I was once a coach and a teacher.

As a coach I understood the importance of mastering the basics.

Give a coach talent and he a can win a few games.

Give a coach talented players willing to master the fundamentals and his team will win championships.

The same can be said of life.

Except in life, I would identify the three important fundamentals of our culture as: faith, family, and freedom.

Faith simply means cultivating an understanding of truth and meaning.

This allows each of us to understand our place in the universe.

What is life all about?  From where do I derive my values?  Where do I find meaning?

These are the questions that faith helps us answer.

Family means cultivating relationships with people closest to you.

This includes parents and siblings, children and grandchildren.

But also includes friends.

I am extremely fortunate to have a wonderful family and close friends who have stood by me through thick and thin.

That’s important.

And regardless of what my job is, they are there.

Just like I’m there for them.

Freedom simply means cultivating a sense of civic duty.

What is your duty as a citizen in a free nation?

Well, voting on Election Day for one.

Someone once said that “ America is a land where a citizen will cross the ocean to fight for democracy and won’t cross the street to vote in a national election.”

We have the bravest citizens in the world.

As we sit here tonight, many are risking their lives to bring freedom to other parts of the world.

But many Americans don’t bother to vote, believing that one vote can’t make a difference.

I’m living proof that each vote does count.

When I first ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1972, I won the election with a margin of 16 votes. 

If eight people had changed their minds, I would still be a schoolteacher. 

In 1998, Jon Fox won an election for Congress in Montgomery County by only 84 votes. 

In 2000, George Bush won Florida , and thus the election, by only 537 votes.

Each vote counts.

And a free society depends on citizens who vote.

These three fundamentals offer stability and equilibrium to face the stresses of life.

They offer certainty in a changing world.

And they offer support when you undertake new challenges – kind of like going back to school to get your GED.

Someone once said, “There’s no such thing as standing still.  Unless a fellow moves ahead, he’s left behind.”

In a world like this, he’s right.

Particularly when it comes to education.

As you know, good jobs come from good education.

Your GED is a positive step in finding a job or changing to a new job or taking on new responsibilities at your current position.

I have to tell you though that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I had the privilege of visiting India and Pakistan in January last year.

The purpose of my trip was human rights monitoring and advocacy.

But I was amazed at the attitude displayed by workers in this region of the world.

Not only are there tens of millions potential employees, they are all highly motivated and hungry to get ahead.

I was impressed, but sobered.

The global marketplace is very competitive.

For the American workforce to remain ahead we must not be complacent in our accomplishments.

We must move ahead.

That’s why the services offered by IU 13 are so critical to helping our nation and our community grow and thrive.

That’s why your decision to pursue an education is so important.

American workers like you rely on the availability of good jobs.

And our economy relies on the availability of skilled workers like you to fill those jobs.

When this process breaks down, parents worry about how to support their children, students lament a lack of future prospects, and professionals – veterans of the workforce – fear for the survival of their careers.

That’s why your decision to go back to school is so important.

And that’s why I will continue to support policies that support your efforts to learn more and do more.

One of these policies is the Perkins Program, which I voted to renew just last month.

The program offers resources to students in vo-tech and adult vocational education programs.

As you consider your next steps, you might think about the support you can get from a Perkins grant.

I also support policies that allow you to keep more of the money you earn.

It’s you, not government, who can make the best choices with your own money.

And when government takes more of your money, you have that much less to pay your bills and save for the future.

Government’s role beyond these things is to work to blunt the negative effects of tragedy and recession.

When George W. Bush took office in 2001 he inherited an economy in recession.

The September 11^th attacks happened and took the air completely out of the economy’s sails.

Corporate scandal piled on.

And we had a mess in 2001 and 2002.

Today though, we have seen two years of growth.

In fact, our economy is growing faster than most other nations in the world.

More people are in the workforce today than ever before.

The budget deficit, which was created by a combination of tax cuts, recession, corporate scandal, and terrorist attack is shrinking.

Just this week, we learned that the deficit this year is $73 billion less than it was last year.

This is because we’ve worked to allow you to keep more of your own money.

And that will continue to work when families focus on the fundamentals.

Let me close with a story that underscores how important it is to work to build a strong home, and a strong family.

When I served in Vietnam as a crewmember on a B-52 bomber, we were trained in survival skills.

We needed to know what to do to survive if we were shot down.

One thing they addressed was being captured by the enemy.

They conducted a study of POWs during the Korean War.

The study found that those who came from healthy and stable homes were more likely to endure torture.

Most of us never face torture.

But in life’s difficult times, it helps to have your family around.

Tonight is the first step in a new adventure.

Because of your hard work here you will have new opportunities and fresh challenges to tackle.

Your friends, family, teachers, all of us are here to show our support.

We believe in you and look forward to supporting you in your continued journey of lifelong learning.