WEBVTT 00:00:00.788 --> 00:00:02.415 What I want to do this afternoon 00:00:02.415 --> 00:00:05.280 is something a little different than what's scheduled. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:07.226 Foreign policy, you can figure that out 00:00:07.226 --> 00:00:10.260 by watching, I don't know, Rachel Maddow or somebody, 00:00:10.260 --> 00:00:12.094 but — (Laughter) — NOTE Paragraph 00:00:12.094 --> 00:00:15.656 I want to talk about young people and structure, 00:00:15.656 --> 00:00:17.623 young people and structure. 00:00:17.623 --> 00:00:19.871 This was last Wednesday afternoon 00:00:19.871 --> 00:00:22.375 at a school in Brooklyn, New York, 00:00:22.375 --> 00:00:25.309 at Cristo Rey High School, run by the Jesuits. 00:00:25.309 --> 00:00:29.146 And I was talking to this group of students, and take a look at them. 00:00:29.146 --> 00:00:31.613 They were around me in three directions. 00:00:31.613 --> 00:00:34.409 You'll noticed that almost all of them are minority. 00:00:34.409 --> 00:00:36.254 You'll notice that the building is rather austere. 00:00:36.254 --> 00:00:40.385 It's an old New York school building, nothing fancy. 00:00:40.385 --> 00:00:42.916 They still have old blackboards and whatnot. 00:00:42.916 --> 00:00:45.507 And there are about 300 kids in this school, 00:00:45.507 --> 00:00:48.159 and the school's been going now for four years, 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:51.113 and they're about to graduate their first class. 00:00:51.113 --> 00:00:53.184 Twenty-two people are graduating, 00:00:53.184 --> 00:00:55.427 and all 22 are going to college. 00:00:55.427 --> 00:00:58.167 They all come from homes where there is, for the most part, 00:00:58.167 --> 00:01:00.690 just one person in the home, 00:01:00.690 --> 00:01:03.596 usually the mother or the grandmother, and that's it, 00:01:03.596 --> 00:01:06.083 and they come here for their education 00:01:06.083 --> 00:01:07.496 and for their structure. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:07.496 --> 00:01:10.304 Now I had this picture taken, and it was put up 00:01:10.304 --> 00:01:12.797 on my Facebook page last week, 00:01:12.797 --> 00:01:14.431 and somebody wrote in, 00:01:14.431 --> 00:01:19.417 "Huh, why does he have him standing at attention like that?" 00:01:19.417 --> 00:01:23.788 And then they said, "But he looks good." (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:23.788 --> 00:01:26.498 He does look good, because kids need structure, 00:01:26.498 --> 00:01:30.004 and the trick I play in all of my school appearances 00:01:30.004 --> 00:01:32.903 is that when I get through with my little homily to the kids, 00:01:32.903 --> 00:01:35.087 I then invite them to ask questions, 00:01:35.087 --> 00:01:36.952 and when they raise their hands, I say, "Come up," 00:01:36.952 --> 00:01:39.291 and I make them come up and stand in front of me. 00:01:39.291 --> 00:01:41.405 I make them stand at attention like a soldier. 00:01:41.405 --> 00:01:43.187 Put your arms straight down at your side, 00:01:43.187 --> 00:01:46.639 look up, open your eyes, stare straight ahead, 00:01:46.639 --> 00:01:50.074 and speak out your question loudly so everybody can hear. 00:01:50.074 --> 00:01:53.331 No slouching, no pants hanging down, none of that stuff. 00:01:53.331 --> 00:01:54.702 (Laughter) 00:01:54.702 --> 00:01:57.967 And this young man, his name is -- his last name Cruz -- 00:01:57.967 --> 00:02:01.804 he loved it. That's all over his Facebook page and it's gone viral. 00:02:01.804 --> 00:02:03.991 (Laughter) 00:02:03.991 --> 00:02:06.734 So people think I'm being unkind to this kid. 00:02:06.734 --> 00:02:08.378 No, we're having a little fun. 00:02:08.378 --> 00:02:10.792 And the thing about it, I've done this for years, 00:02:10.792 --> 00:02:13.952 the younger they are, the more fun it is. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:13.952 --> 00:02:16.892 When I get six- and seven-year-olds in a group, 00:02:16.892 --> 00:02:18.771 I have to figure out how to keep them quiet. 00:02:18.771 --> 00:02:20.774 You know that they'll always start yakking. 00:02:20.774 --> 00:02:22.379 And so I play a little game with them 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:23.951 before I make them stand at attention. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:23.951 --> 00:02:26.224 I say, "Now listen. In the army, 00:02:26.224 --> 00:02:28.552 when we want you to pay attention, 00:02:28.552 --> 00:02:31.737 we have a command. It's called 'at ease.' 00:02:31.737 --> 00:02:35.311 It means everybody be quiet and pay attention. Listen up. 00:02:35.311 --> 00:02:36.449 Do you understand?" NOTE Paragraph 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:41.314 "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.""Let's practice. Everybody start chatting." 00:02:41.314 --> 00:02:44.611 And I let them go for about 10 seconds, then I go, "At ease!" NOTE Paragraph 00:02:44.611 --> 00:02:48.116 "Huh!" (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:02:48.116 --> 00:02:50.638 "Yes, General. Yes, General." NOTE Paragraph 00:02:50.638 --> 00:02:53.041 Try it with your kids. See if it works. (Laughter) 00:02:53.041 --> 00:02:56.094 I don't think so. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:56.094 --> 00:02:59.108 But anyway, it's a game I play, and it comes obviously 00:02:59.108 --> 00:03:00.830 from my military experience. 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:04.259 Because for the majority of my adult life, 00:03:04.259 --> 00:03:08.319 I worked with young kids, teenagers with guns, I call them. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:10.764 And we would bring them into the army, 00:03:10.764 --> 00:03:13.213 and the first thing we would do is to put them 00:03:13.213 --> 00:03:17.300 in an environment of structure, put them in ranks, 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:18.723 make them all wear the same clothes, 00:03:18.723 --> 00:03:21.217 cut all their hair off so they look alike, 00:03:21.217 --> 00:03:23.421 make sure that they are standing in ranks. 00:03:23.421 --> 00:03:25.201 We teach them how to go right face, left face, 00:03:25.201 --> 00:03:27.118 so they can obey instructions and know 00:03:27.118 --> 00:03:30.046 the consequences of not obeying instructions. 00:03:30.046 --> 00:03:31.511 It gives them structure. 00:03:31.511 --> 00:03:35.691 And then we introduce them to somebody who they come to hate immediately, the drill sergeant. 00:03:35.691 --> 00:03:37.565 And they hate him. 00:03:37.565 --> 00:03:39.913 And the drill sergeant starts screaming at them, 00:03:39.913 --> 00:03:43.762 and telling them to do all kinds of awful things. 00:03:43.762 --> 00:03:46.766 But then the most amazing thing happens over time. 00:03:46.766 --> 00:03:49.792 Once that structure is developed, 00:03:49.792 --> 00:03:53.010 once they understand the reason for something, 00:03:53.010 --> 00:03:57.016 once they understand, "Mama ain't here, son. 00:03:57.016 --> 00:04:00.836 I'm your worst nightmare. I'm your daddy and your mommy. 00:04:00.836 --> 00:04:03.448 And that's just the way it is. You got that, son? 00:04:03.448 --> 00:04:06.286 Yeah, and then when I ask you a question, there are only three possible answers: 00:04:06.286 --> 00:04:08.682 yes, sir; no, sir; and no excuse, sir. 00:04:08.682 --> 00:04:10.845 Don't start telling me why you didn't do something. 00:04:10.845 --> 00:04:13.497 It's yes, sir; no, sir; no excuse, sir." NOTE Paragraph 00:04:13.497 --> 00:04:14.620 "You didn't shave.""But sir —" NOTE Paragraph 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:17.875 "No, don't tell me how often you scraped your face this morning. 00:04:17.875 --> 00:04:19.615 I'm telling you you didn't shave." NOTE Paragraph 00:04:19.615 --> 00:04:22.821 "No excuse, sir.""Attaboy, you're learning fast." NOTE Paragraph 00:04:22.821 --> 00:04:25.209 But you'd be amazed at what you can do with them 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:27.663 once you put them in that structure. 00:04:27.663 --> 00:04:32.521 In 18 weeks, they have a skill. They are mature. 00:04:32.521 --> 00:04:35.638 And you know what, they come to admire the drill sergeant 00:04:35.638 --> 00:04:37.536 and they never forget the drill sergeant. 00:04:37.536 --> 00:04:40.171 They come to respect him. 00:04:40.171 --> 00:04:44.086 And so we need more of this kind of structure and respect 00:04:44.086 --> 00:04:46.117 in the lives of our children. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:46.117 --> 00:04:48.090 I spend a lot of time with youth groups, 00:04:48.090 --> 00:04:51.381 and I say to people, "When does the education process begin?" 00:04:51.381 --> 00:04:53.060 We're always talking about, "Let's fix the schools. 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:56.807 Let's do more for our teachers. Let's put more computers in our schools. 00:04:56.807 --> 00:04:59.748 Let's get it all online." NOTE Paragraph 00:04:59.748 --> 00:05:03.054 That isn't the whole answer. It's part of the answer. 00:05:03.054 --> 00:05:06.316 But the real answer begins with bringing a child to the school 00:05:06.316 --> 00:05:10.924 with structure in that child's heart and soul to begin with. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:10.924 --> 00:05:13.793 When does the learning process begin? Does it begin in first grade? 00:05:13.793 --> 00:05:15.976 No, no, it begins the first time 00:05:15.976 --> 00:05:18.657 a child in a mother's arms 00:05:18.657 --> 00:05:21.421 looks up at the mother 00:05:21.421 --> 00:05:24.785 and says, "Oh, this must be my mother. 00:05:24.785 --> 00:05:27.158 She's the one who feeds me. 00:05:27.158 --> 00:05:29.364 Oh yeah, when I don't feel so good down there, 00:05:29.364 --> 00:05:31.878 she takes care of me. 00:05:31.878 --> 00:05:34.901 It's her language I will learn." 00:05:34.901 --> 00:05:37.650 And at that moment they shut out all the other languages 00:05:37.650 --> 00:05:40.006 that they could be learning at that age, 00:05:40.006 --> 00:05:42.955 but by three months, that's her. 00:05:42.955 --> 00:05:45.275 And if the person doing it, whether it's the mother 00:05:45.275 --> 00:05:47.268 or grandmother, whoever's doing it, 00:05:47.268 --> 00:05:49.482 that is when the education process begins. 00:05:49.482 --> 00:05:51.210 That's when language begins. 00:05:51.210 --> 00:05:53.459 That's when love begins. That's when structure begins. 00:05:53.459 --> 00:05:55.947 That's when you start to imprint on the child 00:05:55.947 --> 00:05:58.165 that "you are special, 00:05:58.165 --> 00:06:01.354 you are different from every other child in the world. 00:06:01.354 --> 00:06:03.438 And we're going to read to you." 00:06:03.438 --> 00:06:05.509 A child who has not been read to 00:06:05.509 --> 00:06:07.653 is in danger when that child gets to school. 00:06:07.653 --> 00:06:09.713 A child who doesn't know his or her colors 00:06:09.713 --> 00:06:12.727 or doesn't know how to tell time, doesn't know how to tie shoes, 00:06:12.727 --> 00:06:14.126 doesn't know how to do those things, 00:06:14.126 --> 00:06:16.796 and doesn't know how to do something that 00:06:16.796 --> 00:06:19.672 goes by a word that was drilled into me as a kid: mind. 00:06:19.672 --> 00:06:23.560 Mind your manners! Mind your adults! Mind what you're saying! 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:27.083 This is the way children are raised properly. 00:06:27.083 --> 00:06:29.878 And I watched my own young grandchildren now come along 00:06:29.878 --> 00:06:33.971 and they're, much to the distress of my children, 00:06:33.971 --> 00:06:38.647 they are acting just like we did. You know? You imprint them. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:38.647 --> 00:06:43.872 And that's what you have to do to prepare children for education and for school. 00:06:43.872 --> 00:06:46.131 And I'm working at all the energy I have 00:06:46.131 --> 00:06:48.461 to sort of communicate this message that 00:06:48.461 --> 00:06:52.340 we need preschool, we need Head Start, 00:06:52.340 --> 00:06:54.860 we need prenatal care. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:59.075 The education process begins even before the child is born, 00:06:59.075 --> 00:07:01.783 and if you don't do that, you're going to have difficulty. 00:07:01.783 --> 00:07:04.197 And we are having difficulties in so many of our communities 00:07:04.197 --> 00:07:07.242 and so many of our schools where kids are coming 00:07:07.242 --> 00:07:09.553 to first grade and their eyes are blazing, 00:07:09.553 --> 00:07:13.164 they've got their little knapsack on and they're ready to go, 00:07:13.164 --> 00:07:16.565 and then they realize they're not like the other first graders 00:07:16.565 --> 00:07:21.029 who know books, have been read to, can do their alphabet. 00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:23.723 And by the third grade, the kids who didn't have 00:07:23.723 --> 00:07:27.869 that structure and minding in the beginning 00:07:27.869 --> 00:07:29.779 start to realize they're behind, and what do they do? 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:33.100 They act it out. They act it out, and they're on their way 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:36.186 to jail or they're on their way to being dropouts. 00:07:36.186 --> 00:07:38.050 It's predictable. 00:07:38.050 --> 00:07:41.016 If you're not at the right reading level at third grade, 00:07:41.016 --> 00:07:45.093 you are a candidate for jail at age 18, 00:07:45.093 --> 00:07:47.330 and we have the highest incarceration rate 00:07:47.330 --> 00:07:50.258 because we're not getting our kids the proper start in life. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:50.258 --> 00:07:52.474 The last chapter in my book is called 00:07:52.474 --> 00:07:55.385 "The Gift of a Good Start." 00:07:55.385 --> 00:07:59.077 The gift of a good start. Every child ought to have a good start in life. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:59.077 --> 00:08:01.780 I was privileged to have that kind of good start. 00:08:01.780 --> 00:08:03.671 I was not a great student. 00:08:03.671 --> 00:08:06.339 I was a public school kid in New York City, 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:08.979 and I didn't do well at all. 00:08:08.979 --> 00:08:12.791 I have my entire New York City Board of Education transcript 00:08:12.791 --> 00:08:15.234 from kindergarten through college. 00:08:15.234 --> 00:08:17.504 I wanted it when I was writing my first book. 00:08:17.504 --> 00:08:19.543 I wanted to see if my memory was correct, 00:08:19.543 --> 00:08:22.818 and, my God, it was. (Laughter) 00:08:22.818 --> 00:08:25.606 Straight C everywhere. 00:08:25.606 --> 00:08:28.047 And I finally bounced through high school, 00:08:28.047 --> 00:08:30.126 got into the City College of New York 00:08:30.126 --> 00:08:33.766 with a 78.3 average, which I shouldn't have been allowed in with, 00:08:33.766 --> 00:08:36.505 and then I started out in engineering, 00:08:36.505 --> 00:08:39.063 and that only lasted six months. (Laughter) 00:08:39.063 --> 00:08:43.076 And then I went into geology, "rocks for jocks." This is easy. 00:08:43.076 --> 00:08:45.078 And then I found ROTC. 00:08:45.078 --> 00:08:49.012 I found something that I did well and something that I loved doing, 00:08:49.012 --> 00:08:52.906 and I found a group of youngsters like me who felt the same way. 00:08:52.906 --> 00:08:56.892 And so my whole life then was dedicated to ROTC and the military. 00:08:56.892 --> 00:08:59.560 And I say to young kids everywhere, as you're growing up 00:08:59.560 --> 00:09:02.161 and as this structure is being developed inside of you, 00:09:02.161 --> 00:09:05.197 always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing, 00:09:05.197 --> 00:09:08.334 and when you find those two things together, man, you got it. 00:09:08.334 --> 00:09:10.698 That's what's going on. And that's what I found. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:10.698 --> 00:09:13.352 Now the authorities at CCNY were getting tired of me being there. 00:09:13.352 --> 00:09:15.153 I'd been there four and a half going on five years, 00:09:15.153 --> 00:09:19.563 and my grades were not doing particularly well, 00:09:19.563 --> 00:09:22.705 and I was in occasional difficulties with the administration. 00:09:22.705 --> 00:09:25.619 And so they said, "But he does so well in ROTC. 00:09:25.619 --> 00:09:28.969 Look, he gets straight A's in that but not in anything else." 00:09:28.969 --> 00:09:33.325 And so they said, "Look, let's take his ROTC grades 00:09:33.325 --> 00:09:36.771 and roll them into his overall GPA and see what happens." 00:09:36.771 --> 00:09:43.487 And they did, and it brought me up to 2.0. (Laughter) 00:09:43.487 --> 00:09:47.221 Yep. (Laughter) (Applause) 00:09:47.221 --> 00:09:50.270 They said, "It's good enough for government work. 00:09:50.270 --> 00:09:53.768 Give him to the army. We'll never see him again. We'll never see him again." 00:09:53.768 --> 00:09:55.620 So they shipped me off to the army, 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:59.288 and lo and behold, many years later, 00:09:59.288 --> 00:10:03.594 I'm considered one of the greatest sons the City College of New York has ever had. (Laughter) 00:10:03.594 --> 00:10:06.796 So, I tell young people everywhere, 00:10:06.796 --> 00:10:10.987 it ain't where you start in life, it's what you do with life 00:10:10.987 --> 00:10:14.598 that determines where you end up in life, 00:10:14.598 --> 00:10:17.283 and you are blessed to be living in a country that, 00:10:17.283 --> 00:10:20.469 no matter where you start, you have opportunities 00:10:20.469 --> 00:10:23.173 so long as you believe in yourself, 00:10:23.173 --> 00:10:26.164 you believe in the society and the country, 00:10:26.164 --> 00:10:29.583 and you believe that you can self-improve 00:10:29.583 --> 00:10:31.994 and educate yourself as you go along. 00:10:31.994 --> 00:10:34.227 And that's the key to success. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:34.227 --> 00:10:37.577 But it begins with the gift of a good start. 00:10:37.577 --> 00:10:40.050 If we don't give that gift to each and every one of our kids, 00:10:40.050 --> 00:10:43.728 if we don't invest at the earliest age, 00:10:43.728 --> 00:10:46.470 we're going to be running into difficulties. 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:50.736 It's why we have a dropout rate of roughly 25 percent overall 00:10:50.736 --> 00:10:53.458 and almost 50 percent of our minority population 00:10:53.458 --> 00:10:56.932 living in low-income areas, 00:10:56.932 --> 00:10:59.713 because they're not getting the gift of a good start. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:59.713 --> 00:11:03.691 My gift of a good start was not only being in a nice family, 00:11:03.691 --> 00:11:07.246 a good family, but having a family that said to me, 00:11:07.246 --> 00:11:11.193 "Now listen, we came to this country in banana boats 00:11:11.193 --> 00:11:14.555 in 1920 and 1924. 00:11:14.555 --> 00:11:18.730 We worked like dogs down in the garment industry every single day. 00:11:18.730 --> 00:11:22.256 We're not doing it so that you can stick something up your nose 00:11:22.256 --> 00:11:26.636 or get in trouble. And don't even think about dropping out." 00:11:26.636 --> 00:11:29.687 If I had ever gone home and told those immigrant people 00:11:29.687 --> 00:11:32.156 that, "You know, I'm tired of school and I'm dropping out," 00:11:32.156 --> 00:11:34.813 they'd said, "We're dropping you out. We'll get another kid." 00:11:34.813 --> 00:11:41.171 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:11:41.171 --> 00:11:43.697 They had expectations for all of the cousins 00:11:43.697 --> 00:11:47.280 and the extended family of immigrants that lived in the South Bronx, 00:11:47.280 --> 00:11:50.439 but they had more than just expectations for us. 00:11:50.439 --> 00:11:54.350 They stuck into our hearts like a dagger 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:59.212 a sense of shame: "Don't you shame this family." 00:11:59.212 --> 00:12:00.875 Sometimes I would get in trouble, 00:12:00.875 --> 00:12:02.718 and my parents were coming home, 00:12:02.718 --> 00:12:06.199 and I was in my room waiting for what's going to happen, 00:12:06.199 --> 00:12:08.410 and I would sit there saying to myself, "Okay, look, 00:12:08.410 --> 00:12:13.185 take the belt and hit me, but, God, don't give me that 'shame the family' bit again." 00:12:13.185 --> 00:12:15.942 It devastated me when my mother did that to me. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:15.942 --> 00:12:18.106 And I also had this extended network. 00:12:18.106 --> 00:12:21.094 Children need a network. Children need to be part of a tribe, 00:12:21.094 --> 00:12:22.975 a family, a community. 00:12:22.975 --> 00:12:27.199 In my case it was aunts who lived in all of these tenement buildings. 00:12:27.199 --> 00:12:29.055 I don't know how many of you are New Yorkers, 00:12:29.055 --> 00:12:30.976 but there were these tenement buildings, 00:12:30.976 --> 00:12:34.189 and these women were always hanging out one of the windows, 00:12:34.189 --> 00:12:35.811 leaning on a pillow. 00:12:35.811 --> 00:12:38.570 They never left. (Laughter) 00:12:38.570 --> 00:12:41.604 I, so help me God, I grew up walking those streets, 00:12:41.604 --> 00:12:43.086 and they were always there. 00:12:43.086 --> 00:12:45.960 They never went to the bathroom. They never cooked. (Laughter) 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.506 They never did anything. 00:12:48.506 --> 00:12:51.219 But what they did was keep us in play. 00:12:51.219 --> 00:12:53.505 They kept us in play. 00:12:53.505 --> 00:12:55.763 And they didn't care 00:12:55.763 --> 00:13:00.510 whether you became a doctor or a lawyer or a general, 00:13:00.510 --> 00:13:03.603 and they never expected any generals in the family, 00:13:03.603 --> 00:13:07.463 as long as you got an education and then you got a job. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:07.463 --> 00:13:09.454 "Don't give us any of that self-actualization stuff. 00:13:09.454 --> 00:13:12.269 You get a job and get out of the house. 00:13:12.269 --> 00:13:14.747 We don't have time to waste for that. 00:13:14.747 --> 00:13:18.322 And then you can support us. That's the role of you guys." NOTE Paragraph 00:13:18.322 --> 00:13:23.844 And so, it's so essential that we kind of put this culture 00:13:23.844 --> 00:13:28.126 back into our families, all families. 00:13:28.126 --> 00:13:31.461 And it is so important that all of you here today 00:13:31.461 --> 00:13:34.137 who are successful people, 00:13:34.137 --> 00:13:38.692 and I'm sure have wonderful families and children and grandchildren, 00:13:38.692 --> 00:13:40.430 it's not enough. You've got to reach out and back 00:13:40.430 --> 00:13:43.081 and find kids like Mr. Cruz 00:13:43.081 --> 00:13:46.451 who can make it if you give them the structure, 00:13:46.451 --> 00:13:48.438 if you reach back and help, if you mentor, 00:13:48.438 --> 00:13:50.812 if you invest in boys and girls clubs, 00:13:50.812 --> 00:13:52.703 if you work with your school system, 00:13:52.703 --> 00:13:53.977 make sure it's the best school system, 00:13:53.977 --> 00:13:58.800 and not just your kid's school, but the school uptown in Harlem, 00:13:58.800 --> 00:14:01.622 not just downtown Montessori on the West Side. 00:14:01.622 --> 00:14:05.775 All of us have to have a commitment to do that. 00:14:05.775 --> 00:14:08.425 And we're not just investing in the kids. 00:14:08.425 --> 00:14:10.478 We're investing in our future. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:10.478 --> 00:14:13.299 We're going to be a minority-majority country 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:15.292 in one more generation. 00:14:15.292 --> 00:14:18.661 Those that we call minorities now are going to be the majority. 00:14:18.661 --> 00:14:21.241 And we have to make sure that they are ready to be the majority. 00:14:21.241 --> 00:14:23.472 We have to make sure they're ready to be the leaders 00:14:23.472 --> 00:14:26.424 of this great country of ours, 00:14:26.424 --> 00:14:29.900 a country that is like no other, 00:14:29.900 --> 00:14:31.585 a country that amazes me every single day, 00:14:31.585 --> 00:14:34.205 a country that's fractious. We're always arguing with each other. 00:14:34.205 --> 00:14:37.177 That's how the system's supposed to work. 00:14:37.177 --> 00:14:40.756 It's a country of such contrasts, but it's a nation of nations. 00:14:40.756 --> 00:14:44.752 We touch every nation. Every nation touches us. 00:14:44.752 --> 00:14:46.437 We are a nation of immigrants. 00:14:46.437 --> 00:14:49.581 That's why we need sound immigration policy. 00:14:49.581 --> 00:14:52.816 It's ridiculous not to have a sound immigration policy 00:14:52.816 --> 00:14:55.899 to welcome those who want to come here and be part of this great nation, 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:58.052 or we can send back home with an education 00:14:58.052 --> 00:15:01.433 to help their people rise up out of poverty. 00:15:01.433 --> 00:15:05.276 One of the great stories I love to tell is about my love 00:15:05.276 --> 00:15:06.673 of going to my hometown of New York 00:15:06.673 --> 00:15:08.467 and walking up Park Avenue on a beautiful day 00:15:08.467 --> 00:15:10.948 and admiring everything and seeing all the people go by 00:15:10.948 --> 00:15:12.402 from all over the world. 00:15:12.402 --> 00:15:16.040 But what I always have to do is stop at one of the corners 00:15:16.040 --> 00:15:19.426 and get a hot dog from the immigrant pushcart peddler. 00:15:19.426 --> 00:15:22.577 Gotta have a dirty water dog. (Laughter) 00:15:22.577 --> 00:15:25.557 And no matter where I am or what I'm doing, 00:15:25.557 --> 00:15:26.832 I've got to do that. 00:15:26.832 --> 00:15:29.497 I even did it when I was Secretary of State. 00:15:29.497 --> 00:15:32.398 I'd come out of my suite at the Waldorf Astoria 00:15:32.398 --> 00:15:35.478 — (Laughter) — 00:15:35.478 --> 00:15:38.789 be walking up the street, and I would hit around 55th Street 00:15:38.789 --> 00:15:41.100 looking for the immigrant pushcart peddler. 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.299 In those days, I had five bodyguards around me 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:46.193 and three New York City police cars would roll alongside 00:15:46.193 --> 00:15:51.013 to make sure nobody whacked me while I was going up Park Avenue. (Laughter) 00:15:51.013 --> 00:15:52.681 And I would order the hot dog from the guy, 00:15:52.681 --> 00:15:55.127 and he'd start to fix it, and then he'd look around 00:15:55.127 --> 00:15:56.804 at the bodyguards and the police cars -- 00:15:56.804 --> 00:15:58.886 "I've got a green card! I've got a green card!" (Laughter) 00:15:58.886 --> 00:16:03.222 "It's okay, it's okay." NOTE Paragraph 00:16:03.222 --> 00:16:05.670 But now I'm alone. I'm alone. 00:16:05.670 --> 00:16:08.461 I've got no bodyguards, I've got no police cars. I've got nothing. 00:16:08.461 --> 00:16:11.123 But I gotta have my hot dog. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:11.123 --> 00:16:14.887 I did it just last week. It was on a Tuesday evening 00:16:14.887 --> 00:16:17.187 down by Columbus Circle. 00:16:17.187 --> 00:16:20.042 And the scene repeats itself so often. 00:16:20.042 --> 00:16:23.396 I'll go up and ask for my hot dog, 00:16:23.396 --> 00:16:25.758 and the guy will fix it, and as he's finishing, 00:16:25.758 --> 00:16:28.460 he'll say, "I know you. I see you on television. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:30.354 You're, well, you're General Powell." NOTE Paragraph 00:16:30.354 --> 00:16:33.044 "Yes, yes.""Oh ... " NOTE Paragraph 00:16:33.044 --> 00:16:34.195 I hand him the money. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:34.195 --> 00:16:39.120 "No, General. You can't pay me. I've been paid. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.883 America has paid me. I never forget where I came from. 00:16:42.883 --> 00:16:46.073 But now I'm an American. Sir, thank you." NOTE Paragraph 00:16:46.073 --> 00:16:48.341 I accept the generosity, continue up the street, 00:16:48.341 --> 00:16:50.570 and it washes over me, my God, 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:54.588 it's the same country that greeted my parents this way 90 years ago. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:54.588 --> 00:16:56.775 So we are still that magnificent country, 00:16:56.775 --> 00:16:59.550 but we are fueled by young people coming up 00:16:59.550 --> 00:17:02.554 from every land in the world, 00:17:02.554 --> 00:17:06.081 and it is our obligation as contributing citizens 00:17:06.081 --> 00:17:07.867 to this wonderful country of ours 00:17:07.867 --> 00:17:11.014 to make sure that no child gets left behind. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:11.014 --> 00:17:13.092 Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:13.092 --> 00:17:25.199 (Applause)