Oh No, Oh No... Don't Lift Me,

Our Future May Lie Beyond Our Vision, But It Is Not Completely Beyond Our Control. It Is The Shaping Impulse Of America That Neither Fate Nor Nature Nor The Irresistible Tides Of History, But The Work Of Our Own Hands, Matched To Reason And Principle, That Will Determine Our Destiny. There Is Pride In That, Even Arrogance, But There Is Also Experience And Truth. In Any Event, It Is The Only Way We Can Live.

There Are People In Every Time And Every Land Who Want To Stop History In Its Tracks. They Fear The Future, Mistrust The Present, And Invoke The Security Of The Comfortable Past Which, In Fact, Never Existed.

This Much Is Clear: Violence Breeds Violence, Repression Brings Retaliation, And Only A Cleansing Of Our Whole Society Can Remove This Sickness From Our Soul.

Our Attitude Towards Immigration Reflects Our Faith In The American Ideal. We Have Always Believed It Possible For Men And Women Who Start At The Bottom To Rise As Far As The Talent And Energy Allow. Neither Race Nor Place Of Birth Should Affect Their Chances.

But History Will Judge You, And As The Years Pass, You Will Ultimately Judge Yourself, In The Extent To Which You Have Used Your Gifts And Talents To Lighten And Enrich The Lives Of Your Fellow Men. In Your Hands Lies The Future Of Your World And The Fulfillment Of The Best Qualities Of Your Own Spirit.