as we know it did not issue full-blown from the decade of its founding and the transcendent documents written during that time

The America we now inhabit was created over the course of the ensuing two centuries, through the unceasing demand of men and women in every generation that the promise of America include more and more of its people, that the American identity be rooted in a person's willingness to commit to the ideal of America and to work toward its realization. The commitment to an America that provides opportunity for all its people remains the central principle of our national life and the deepest source of our strength. Our nation is replete with examples of the strength that historically excluded groups and newcomers can bring. All they require is that the nation provide a rational basis for the belief that through their own labors they can help strengthen and then claim their fair share in America. Our diversity is one of our greatest national assets. Our future health and vitality as a society depend on it. It is an area in which we clearly lead the world.

Many nations are now struggling with these same issues. In developing countries, strains caused by flows of refugees and migrants are particularly sharp. And the break-up of the Soviet empire has sprung loose long-dormant ethnic antagonisms in that part of the world. It is becoming more and more evident that the experiment in multiracial, multi-ethnic living that the United States has been conducting for more than two hundred years must also be attempted by the larger world.

If the world is, in fact, becoming a global village, it is a village where many voices must be heard, the counsels of many different traditions taken, and many different points of view understood. As issues of trade, peace and security, and the environment have become more global in both their scope and consequences, they have vastly increased the need for international cooperation. In such a world, only a shared commitment to equitable economic growth and to the ideals expressed in such documents as the U.N. Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and our own laws and Constitution will safely guide us on our way.