2008 Woodie Awards
Clinton captivates Meehan audience
Former president proclaims era of interdependence, calls for shared responsibilities and values
Eric Beck
Issue date: 4/30/05 Section: Campus News
The United States needs to evaluate domestic and foreign policy options through a framework that recognizes the world's interdependence and aims to foster an integrated global community with shared responsibilities, benefits and values, former President Bill Clinton told thousands in a packed and high-energy Meehan Auditorium Friday afternoon.
Clinton captivated the audience during his 50-minute policy lecture titled "Embracing Our Common Humanity: Security and Prosperity in the 21st Century." He received frequent applause, and his likening of international agreements to marriages and his joke that evolution is "just a theory" resulted in roars of laughter from the crowd.
Slideshow: Clinton addresses Brown University in Meehan Auditorium
President Ruth Simmons introduced the 42nd president, saying, "In the early 1990s, he came forth with conviction and promise onto the national stage. And thank God he did."
Opening his speech, Clinton said we now live in an era of interdependence. Countries are linked more closely than in the past, he said, citing how a few individuals in China stopped the spread of a deadly SARS epidemic throughout the world.
But Clinton argued that interdependence is more than transnational connections - it is also on the local level. The multitude of races and ethnicities interacting in every community is evidence of humanity's interdependence, he said.
"This interdependence is not just that we're tied to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In our country, in our community and within the institutions we care about, we are growing more diverse and more dependent on one another," he said.
Interdependence itself is not necessarily good, he argued. He cited the poverty, hunger, illiteracy and health problems of the world as evidence that an interconnected world does not necessarily mean a better world.
Clinton captivated the audience during his 50-minute policy lecture titled "Embracing Our Common Humanity: Security and Prosperity in the 21st Century." He received frequent applause, and his likening of international agreements to marriages and his joke that evolution is "just a theory" resulted in roars of laughter from the crowd.
Slideshow: Clinton addresses Brown University in Meehan Auditorium
President Ruth Simmons introduced the 42nd president, saying, "In the early 1990s, he came forth with conviction and promise onto the national stage. And thank God he did."
Opening his speech, Clinton said we now live in an era of interdependence. Countries are linked more closely than in the past, he said, citing how a few individuals in China stopped the spread of a deadly SARS epidemic throughout the world.
But Clinton argued that interdependence is more than transnational connections - it is also on the local level. The multitude of races and ethnicities interacting in every community is evidence of humanity's interdependence, he said.
"This interdependence is not just that we're tied to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In our country, in our community and within the institutions we care about, we are growing more diverse and more dependent on one another," he said.
Interdependence itself is not necessarily good, he argued. He cited the poverty, hunger, illiteracy and health problems of the world as evidence that an interconnected world does not necessarily mean a better world.