Remarks by President George W. Bush at "The Wave of Freedom: Early Lessons from the Middle East"

Please be seated.

Welcome, and thank you for coming. Laura and I are thrilled that you are here, and we welcome you to SMU. For those of you who don’t know much about SMU, you are on the campus of an excellent university, and we’re honored to be associated with SMU.

I want to thank Ambassador Mark Langdale for his leadership, Secretary Don Evans for his leadership, and Jim Glassman for his leadership. I am honored to be in the midst of folks who are leading the cause of freedom, and for the enablers.

People ask me about what’s going on in the Middle East, and as you probably know by now, I’m retired, [Laughter.] and so I’m not opining that much. But here’s what I think. I think we live in exciting times. And I’m not surprised that freedom continues to march forward.

And the reason I’m not surprised is because I believe—and many in this room believe—deep in the soul of every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth is the desire to be free. It is a desire to have their voices heard, and it is a desire to live under governments that are responsive to their needs.

I have read a lot of history during my 64 years. It is clear that it takes time for freedom to take root. And so while these are exciting times, these times also require a degree of patience — particularly from those of us who live in the comfortable lives of free societies.

We’ve got to understand that sometimes the seed is planted on rocky soil, and it takes time. And one of the dangers for the freedom movement around the world is that the United States grows weary and becomes isolated from the inevitable march of freedom.

It’s important for our country to understand that what happens abroad affects us at home, and that the spread of free societies makes our country more secure and makes the world more peaceful. And it’s important to recognize that the spread of free societies upholds the ideal that all human beings have worth and dignity.

A person who understood that clearly during my time in office was our dear friend Condoleezza Rice, who in the midst of difficult times remained optimistic; in the midst of challenging times stood on principle.

I’m proud to call her friend. I was proud to call her Secretary of State. And I am proud to welcome her back to Dallas. Madam Secretary.

[Applause]