- Thank you Madam President, and Ms. Parnell,
thank you for that very extravagant introduction.
Truly appreciate it.
Hello, everyone.
I'm very sorry I can't be with you in person this evening
for this very special event, but as you saw in the video,
Jeopardy! and I have had some really good times
here at Constitution Hall, and it is my fervent wish
that in the not too distant future, we have the opportunity
to come back and do another tournament for you folks.
Now, when I received the first letter from the DAR,
informing me that they wanted to honor me
with the Spirit of Americanism Award,
my initial reaction was no way, it's not going to happen.
As I told the audience at the Emmy's about a month ago,
I'm not a big fan of sympathy votes,
and I thought the DAR was being unusually generous
and very sympathetic towards me
because of my health condition
and I felt very uncomfortable because of that.
But then I re-read the letter that President General Dillon
sent me and I noticed that it was postmarked
five days before my health announcement.
Well, that changed everything, didn't it?
Sympathy was no longer a factor.
I changed my mind.
I said, "I will accept, perhaps, I even deserve this award,"
eh, not too sure about that.
You can take that statement with a grain of salt.
As you all know, the Spirit of Americanism award
is presented to an American citizen
who was not born in this country, and boy,
there are a lot of us out there in American right now,
and some of these people have major accomplishments.
Think about it.
Two formers secretaries of state,
Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger,
a co-founder of one of the world's largest corporations,
countless people in the show business and arts communities
who have made major contributions to the culture in America.
But we all have two things in common.
First of all, most of us wanted to be here.
We made a conscious decision to come to America,
because of the opportunities that were available here
that perhaps were not available to us
in our birth countries.
(phone ringing) And secondly,
we have all come to deeply love this country.
In my case, it happened quite naturally.
I met and fell in love with a beautiful young American girl
from Long Island, New York.
We got married in 1990,
and began raising two beautiful children.
My career prospered.
I started to think about ways in which I could give back.
Here's my idea of the true spirit of Americanism.
It's an outstretched hand and a gentle voice that says,
"Hey, through no fault of your own,
"you had a child who was born with serious birth defects.
"This is a major ordeal for you,
"one that can't be borne alone.
"Let us help you.
"Through no fault of your own, your job disappeared.
"It vanished.
"You can no longer support your family
"the way you did before.
"Oh, I know you got a replacement job,
"but it doesn't pay you anywhere near the salary
"you were earning prior to that event.
"You're in danger of losing your home.
"You can't afford health insurance.
"You certainly can't afford to send your kids to college.
"For that, they're gonna have to take out big loans
"that they won't be able to repay
"for 15 or 20 years after graduation.
"Let us help you."
It's that same hand reaching across two vast oceans,
across international boundaries,
and saying to foreign leaders,
"Hey, we understand that you govern your country
"very differently than we do here in the United States.
"You are not a democratic republic.
"Some of you oppress your own citizens.
"Some of your people worship a superior being
"in religions that have become xenophobic and dangerous.
"That's okay.
"As long as you don't cross the line and threaten us,
"America will not raise a hand against you.
"In fact, we wanna join hands with you,
"to help solve some of the problems
"that are endangering people all around the planet."
Speaking of the planet, it is in trouble.
It didn't happen overnight.
It's taken 150 years to get to where we are today,
but we have to do something about it.
The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, I think, said it best,
when he wrote, "A journey of a thousand miles
"begins with a single step," and that's what we need to do,
take that single step so that future generations
of Americans, our descendants will be able to look back
at us and say, "You know what?
"Our grandparents had some tough decisions to make,
"but because they made those decisions,
"the world is a better place in which to live."
I think all of us need to look at our country,
and figure out whether America lives up to the ideal America
that we have here and here.
If it doesn't, if there's room for improvement,
and there always is, let us act.
Is the image of America that is projected abroad
one that we feel comfortable with?
Or is there a way in which we can become better neighbors?
I truly believe that if each and every one of us
takes that single step, one step at a time,
then before too long, each and every one of you
will be able to say, "You know what?
"I think I'm worthy of the Spirit of Americanism award."
But for this year, and thanks to the DAR,
the award is mine, and I'm happy to accept it,
I accept it with humility,
and I accept it with a great deal of pride.
Thank you very much, and God bless America.