Warm greetings to everyone gathered on Capitol Hill for the congressional celebration of One America. I thank Representative Charlie Rangel, Representative Ben Gilman, and former Representative Frank Guarini for their leadership in encouraging all Americans to reach out across differences in ethnicity, race, and religion to celebrate our fundamental unity.

Warm greetings to everyone gathered on Capitol Hill for the congressional celebration of One America. I thank Representative Charlie Rangel, Representative Ben Gilman, and former Representative Frank Guarini for their leadership in encouraging all Americans to reach out across differences in ethnicity, race, and religion to celebrate our fundamental unity.

And we will only succeed if we stay open to one another. We've got to learn to listen as well as to talk. We've got to learn to feel as well as to think. We have to learn, as we're all told we should do from childhood, to walk in the other person's shoes. When we have done that, I know we can make the future one of equal opportunity and equal responsibility and equal membership in our American community.

I commend all of those participating in this memorable One America celebration for your contributions to this endeavor. Your presence at this event reminds us that, while each of us rightly takes pride in our own culture and heritage, we also celebrate the values that all Americans hold in common: freedom, justice, tolerance, equality, and opportunity. Living and working and growing together, we can build a bright future for all our people.

Best wishes for a wonderful celebration.

Bill Clinton