Speaking on the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) told an audience at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government that America’s status in world politics directly instigated the attacks.
Clinton described the terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C. and New York City as an unavoidable rendezvous with responsibility, capable of making America a stronger, wiser and richer nation. However, she said, it is truly up to the citizens to show the world how to respond to such a threat.
“I understand that we have to be realistic, but we also have to try,” Clinton said of the political work that lies ahead for today’s young people.
She said the beliefs and values of America’s youth are important, and for that reason, it is crucial for them to become involved in politics in any way possible.
“Life is trying to build a temple … and not being able to finish it,” Clinton said, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The work is never finished, but half the joy is being involved in the progress,” she said. “Politics has to be about the future and the building of that great temple.
“There is no better place to reflect on the events [of last September] than here at the Institute of Politics at Harvard in order to remember John Kennedy — a man also lost too soon — and to emphasize the role of young people in politics,” Clinton said at the start of her speech.
The former first lady spoke of the importance of finding a middle ground between politics and everyday work, saying the task lying before the United States involves more than military power.
“If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, the world would certainly be a better place,” Clinton said, quoting Kennedy.
Clinton also made an effort to emphasize the strength and heroism resulting from Sept. 11. She expressed her views on the way Americans dealt with, and responded to, the use of human power witnessed six months ago.
“Salvation of the human world lies only in the human heart. This is something we have seen a great deal of lately, especially in New York,” Clinton said.
Following this, she expressed her hopes for election and campaign finance reform, as well as hate crime legislation in the near future.
“We must defend ourselves not only by investing in military and homeland defense spending, but also through education, family planning and health care,” Clinton said. “We must export our values and give a fair chance for other nations to see what we are fighting for.”
Clinton continued to speak of the importance of fiscal responsibility and investment in conservation, encouraging listeners to practice the values America attempts to instill in foreign regimes.
“She started off slow and somber, which is appropriate for this type of event,” said Harvard sophomore and College Democrat member R. Gerard McGeary. “I was very impressed, though, and happy to hear that she is looking to domestic issues as well as those related to the events of Sept. 11.”
Other issues introduced by Harvard students included the controversy regarding the 2000 presidential election, worsening hospital conditions in Rochester, N.Y., advancements in mental healthcare services and political organizations currently available to young people.
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