of the most dynamic and complex situations of our times. times change and issues are organic. fundamental to a strong leader of core regardless of what sector of what sector they serve for white ideology they hold are the skills that guide them as they set a vision and strategy motivates strong teams, navigate challenges make difficult decisions and find common ground. our curriculum has developed a partnership with some of the best minds in the scholarship of leadership. paul almeida and michael o'leary from georgetown university who are here with us as well. the program will combine the study of leadership skills like communication persuasion decision-making and coalition building with examples and case studies from the four presidencies. participants will connect with the best minds in the science and leadership gain insights from the former president and those who served with them and develop practical skills that

will apply during and after the program. they will also learn from leaders and other sectors as well as in the stat -- distinguished faculty from universities affiliated with each center. participants will visit and learn to give them a first-hand look at the resources of the libraries and the stories to tell. the presidential leadership scholars program is at the stage iv the participants to expand the scope of what they believe is possible, to build upon their already proven track record of success to achieve significant and measurable good in their community and in their future work. they will also bond together and learn from each other as mentors, resources and partners to advance their own personal leadership projects and help each other over their challenges they face and importantly this program is at no cost to the participants thanks to the generous support of our founding -- it's been terrific

too clever with my colleagues and now it's my pleasure to introduce bethany streett the executive director of the clinton foundation will tell you more about the type of leader we are looking for as well as more about the esteemed advisory committee who will help guide the program. stephanie. [applause] >> thank you market. it's been truly an honor to be here today and on behalf of the clinton foundation i would like to thank our partners who have worked alongside us over this past year to turn our shared vision into a pioneering leadership development program. now to echo margaret's sentiments about having new best friends and is this program has taken shape over the past year our teams have met regularly and with the exception of having very strong opinions on whether

arkansas or texas has better barbecue or football while working together has been working -- wonderful. let me take this time to recognize their presidential leadership scholars advisory committee. the advisory committee is comprised of 12 members, three appointees representing each presidential center. first, our chair josh bolten and our "chair alexis herman. [applause] in addition we are pleased to have james w. ciccone, carlos gutierrez, tom johnson, thelma s. martinez, general stanley a. mcchrystal, connie newman, lyndon olson, dr. roger b. porter, donna show layla and laura. serving as ex-officio members bruce samargya. please join me in thanking our full committee.

[applause] as you can see we have been fortunate to assemble quite a distinguished group of individuals who will advise on all aspects of the program and be active partners to help us ensure that the presidential leadership scholars program is really a state-of-the-art experience. we join together to launch this program because we believe that working together in the spirit of collaboration is truly the best way to chart a path forward. we want to work with and help develop individuals who believe in that same philosophy and the work of our four centers as evidence that individuals give different backgrounds and perspectives can unite to pursue a common goal. now you have just heard from marc about the program's origins and objectives to let me set the stage and put this program integrator context. i will start with the curriculum

that is being designed by dr. paul almeida at the senior associate dean of executive education at the mcdonough school of business at georgetown university and his colleague dr. michael o'leary. doctors almeida and o'leary have developed managed and taught in numerous top-tier executive leadership programs for many years and are incorporating the best of what they have learned into the design of this program. our leadership scholars can look forward to a variety of experiences including lectures, group discussions, debates and case analyses. during their sessions they will have the opportunity to hear from world-class academics preeminent scholars and the public-private military and nonprofit sector as well as key advisers from the presidential administrations. scholars will also explore

critical moments of presidential leadership and take a deep dive into the presidential library resources relevant to those moments. and there will be a number of collective learning activities designed to give our future leaders in any sector the practical skills they need to drive solution oriented action. now i want to briefly touch on our scholars. we are being intentional in seeking those with significant work or professional experience of demonstrated a record of leadership and a clear impact on their communities. more importantly we are looking for leaders from every sector who have decided that they want to strengthen their leadership skills to have an even bigger impact. and we look forward to the committed group of alumni scholars which will grow year after year and become a significant force for positive change.

at the clinton foundation we have seen how presidential leadership has translated into success in a global nonprofit. as a result of president clinton's commitment to creative cooperation a new model of leadership has emerged. ceos who consider social good to be part of their bottom line. philanthropists who know that business oriented solutions will help them reach their goals faster. creating innovative partnerships that bring together people and organizations with very different philosophies, backgrounds and objectives and asking them to work together to solve the same issue is an extremely potent and powerful force and it takes leadership. it's that same spirit and approach that we bring to the table as we join with our fellow centers on today's launch to build a future where cooperation

triumphs over differences. thank you. [applause] ♪ >> i don't think anybody can be fully prepared for the moment when you're getting a briefing telling u.n. on a national security issue and everybody turns to the president and says what are we going to do mr. president? >> our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century. for anyone of us to succeed we must succeed as one american. >> use power to help people or we are given power not to advance their own purposes or to make a great show in the world

or name. there is but one just use the power and it is to serve people. >> we are all fellow passengers on a dot of earth and each of us has really only a moment. >> leadership isn't about you. it's making sure that as a leader you are doing what leadership requires even though your own personality, your own nature might make you wish you were somewhere, anywhere else but you are not. you are there. i cannot think of a recent president who didn't embody that and that is what this particular presidential foundation initiative is about. >> manning the leadership

scholars program, our objective was to fully use the experience of the president's so that people who really want to make a difference in the world could learn from them, form a community and contribute to society. >> lbj respected public service above all and realized the need for great leaders in this country. he would also recognize that the great leadership qualities and clinton in the two bush presidencies. that is the reason i'm so excited about this program because young leaders are coming to our institutions to learn the lessons from these precedence in order to shape a better america. >> this is a program that is targeted at people who have demonstrated some capability and leadership and demonstrated a desire and a passion for applying those skills to some public good. >> whether they are in a private business or work for their local government or state agency or

are involved in nonprofit or in the military looking for people who share the same perspective on an issue. >> there are some unique aspects of the program. it's for presidents. we have access to the presidents themselves, people who came into contact with them and material from which we can learn. >> this inspire the next generation of leaders who are committed to change for social good. >> the same skill sets necessary to succeed in government or in business or an ngo are basically the same so there is a big premium on motivating others, selling others, getting buy-in from others and compromising. >> we want to create leaders who can learn from the president but

presidents as people. these are human beings with lots of positive attributes who have to deal with a significant amount of challenges and are probably faced a lot of uncertainty and yet had to soldier ahead, make decisions, motivate other people. >> if they really want to make a difference they will have to go through that. i think that's inspiring. >> the tough decisions are never the black-and-white decisions. the tough decisions get into the shades of gray. each individual leader needs to find his or her niche and use what skills they have two affecting outcomes that they are trying to achieve. we hope to give them the tools with this program to be able to decide. >> i think anytime the president is dealing with the crisis they are dealing with uncertainty. you have to be willing to live through the discomfort of having

everybody against you because you are doing something that's either very difficult or hard for people to understand. >> we have something very unique in a program that bears pork for presidential centers together that tell the story of some very consequential issues and it just makes sense that they come together and help with this next generation of young civically inclined americans. who better to nurture young leaders than leaders themselves? >> our trade as a nation and our future as a people rests not upon one citizen but upon all citizens. >> we have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order. >> the principles of my

presidency as to whom much is given much is required in america such a blessed nation that i believe we have an obligation. life is service to the end. >> what should our shared values the? everybody counts, everybody deserves a chance. everybody has a responsibility to fulfill. we all do better when we work together. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome alexis herman cochair advisory committee and joshua bolton chairman of the presidential leadership scholars advisory committee former white house chief of staff and budget director under president george w. bush and current managing director of iraq kuwait -- rock creek global advisers. [applause] >> good morning.

it is an honor to be here and to cochair this important and timely program. today we do a good thing for our country and for our world. i must say that to you president clinton, president bush i thank you today for your foresight, for your insight and for your commitment to inspire a new generation of leaders and to help them to better understand what it really means to collaborate to communicate and to find common ground even if they don't agree on the basic issues. i have always believed that leaders are not born. they are made and they are shaped by the environment, by the people that they meet and by the offense that they encounter. i believe that the work that we will do through this initiative will help propel them even

further on their higher path of giving back to our country and to develop them into even greater leaders of the future. i'm delighted to have the opportunity to be working again with my good friend josh bolten on this initiative and for all of the distinguished members of the advisory committee. i believe that i speak for you josh and for all of the committee members when i say that we recognize that this is not about being easy but it is about the art of the possible and i look forward to helping to foster and all of the great possibilities that i know this presidential scholars initiative will hold for the future. thank you. [applause] >> thank you alexis for those kind words. i look forward very much to

working with you and now ladies and gentlemen please join me in welcoming the 42nd and 43rd presidents of the united states. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> gentleman before have a the chance to ask you some questions i have a letter that has just arrived from walker's point kennebunkport maine. [laughter] september 8, 2014. i'm delighted to send greetings to all gathered in washington d.c. for the launch of this innovative partnership between

the participating foundations in this new presidential leadership scholars program. every former president is different and that's as it should be. for example not all of us skydive. [laughter] that is not a judgmental comment, just a fact. [laughter] every so often however there's an idea is so compelling that it brings together former chief executives and their foundations to pushing forward. so it is with this presidential leadership scholars program which will offer quality leaders the chance to study presidential decisions and learn from key administration officials, practitioners and leading academics. we face a lot of big challenges both in and out of governments of the idea of developing more leaders from all walks of life to address them and lead our nation is vitally important in my view. thank you for being here today

and please asked the two distinguished gentlemen following the -- signed, george bush. [applause] i understand president bush is watching so i know from everybody in this room today we send greetings and respect and salutations. gentlemen, the letter i just read from 41 mentions the uniqueness of having these four presidential centers come together. in fact i think this is the first collaboration ever among presidential centers in an ongoing initiative. why did you decide to do this as a collaboration and why did you pick leadership president bush?

>> because. you said keep it short, right? [laughter] hi mom. because we have a lot to offer. bill and i have become friends in the post-presidency. i admire my pal's ability to communicate and to lead. i know he wants his library to be relevant as part of the future as do i. i know 41 will. i have always admired president johnson's leadership and i know these centers and the university are tremendous assets that need to be used properly. i felt and i know bill feels the same way, anyway afield it was a fantastic use of our ability to bring people together. the reason why leadership,

nonwashington everybody assumes we are talking about the next president but we are not. we are talking about leadership and i'll aspects of life and one other thing is i am learned through my painting is i have tried to leave something behind, something to make the world a better place. we did that hopefully and people will judge it that way when they way when their president but there are still a lot of life to live. i think the great contribution to our country will be to educate the next generation of leaders. so i am thrilled to be associated with this. it's a big deal. >> first i wanted to do it because a great task for any democracy at any time is how to have a vigorous debate, serious disagreement, knock-down drag-out fights and somehow come

to ultimately arrest of -- resolution that enables the country to keep moving forward. the founders said her job was to create a more perfect union. they never said our job was to agree on everything. but if you read the constitution is out to buts make a deal. [laughter] because it was studiously designed to avoid dictatorship, therefore leadership style are all different but in the end we have to both letter differences flourish and chrome to some sort of understanding about how to do with our challenges and how to go forward. these libraries and foundations represent two republicans, two democrats grade three of us fortunately are still around.

people at my age were profoundly affected by president johnson's civil rights act and the whole set of things that happened in the 60s. and so i think we are in a great struggle in america and around the world to define the terms of our interdependence. this is the most interdependent age in human history. we were laughing about going to restaurants and having to spend our time taking selfies. >> at least they are still asking you know. >> that's right. [laughter] they used to be people wanted to shake your hands and now they want you to have a shake in your hand and have a record of it. we can't get away from each other. the question is how will we define the terms of our relationship and that's going to take enormous amounts of leadership in every sector.

i'm glad george said that. this is not primarily a political deal. we believe that there were some skills and i also think leaders are made. you may have some i need abilities that you were born with but our military proves you can train leaders and their capacities can dramatically increase. i hope we can be helpful. >> president clinton let me follow up on that last point about leaders not being made. the center is supposed to be teaching leadership that cannot actually be taught? how do you do that? >> well i think some things can be taught but some things have to be observed and practiced as well. i think we have to teach true observation in practice. whatever you want to do you have tonight have an idea and a

vision of where you are going. the strategy about how to get there. then you have to have a plan to execute that strategy. and you need to be comfortable with an honest assessment of what you don't know and what you can't do so well so people who are good at things you aren't, so you can do that and then you have to leave the door open for someone to disagree with you. i remember, i will say one thing nice about my friend here. i will say more than one thing but there was particularly one thing i wanted to say. he used to call me twice a year in his second term just to talk. we would talk depending on how much time he had because he was busier than me. somewhere between 30 and 45

minutes for several years. it meant a lot to me. we never talked about it in public. we talked about everything in the world. he asked my opinion and half the time he disagreed with it but i felt good about it. i thought that was a really healthy thing and i will never forget the first week i was in office i got all the young people that helped me in my campaign and i said you know if any of you ever come into this office and tell me what you think i want to hear my goose is cooked. and i might as well run the white house with the computer. you have got to cultivate people who know things you don't and have skills you don't and yes i can be taught. if nothing else we can help people get out of their own way. everybody has a story and a dream and they can bring it to bear if we can just help people

get out of their own way sometimes. >> president bush there was no presidential leadership scholars program when you're you were growing up. >> yeah there was. george h.w. bush. >> that's exactly where i was going. [laughter] you need to strategize your questions a little bit better. [laughter] >> my next question is, president clinton. [laughter] is there anything you wish somebody had taught you about leadership before you became a leader? >> actually i thought you were going to promote my book. first of all let me go back to the question that you answered. i agree with a lot of what you said. i don't think you can teach a melody. i don't think you can teach

being secure. i don't think you can teach courage. i think you can get people tools if it's in their system and that's what we intend to do. that is what this program is aimed at people who have exhibited leadership characteristics that you can't teach and to give them tools and confidence. i believe there has to be a confidence boost. people go through this program and see other people their age or you were in the same area of work and they will say wow i think i can do more. i have studied william j. clinton or george w. bush or lbj and first they will discover we are just normal people who got caught up in the ambition and drive and circumstance and ended up being president. if these guys can do it, i can do and hear the tools necessary to do it.

absolutely you can teach leadership skills. i don't think you can necessarily teach leadership qualities. so this program, i assume the committee is going to screen for people who have shown leadership qualities by the age of 35 or 50 or however old people are going today. i learned a lot from my dad. i am very fortunate to have watched a great man and as a matter of fact this book i'm writing, marketing it now, which i think will be november the 11th. [laughter] it's a love story. this is going to irritate people in washington i suspect, or some because it's a love story. but it's a story about seeing someone you admire and learning from them and maybe this program will do the same thing. i have learned a lot of lessons from being able to watch them

throughout life but i suspect that people are going to be able to say when they finish this program i learned a lot about leadership when i study the presidencies of the four people associated with the program. >> mr. president you clearly absorbed a lot of lessons from 41. i'm assuming those will be laid out in your book available november 11. [laughter] $16.80. >> at little higher. [laughter] >> i learned a lot from him and i'm not making any money off of the book. [applause] let's explore that. it's one of the challenges for this program. last week, i went to kennebunkport as a designated black sheep of the group to see

president bush on the 70th anniversary of this being the youngest american pilot shot out of the sky in world war ii. now somebody taught him how to fly the plane but he was 20 and he wanted to be up there. we had a flyover with an exact replica of the bomber he flew and it was a small bomber compared to the larger ones that were developed later and the even smaller fighter planes that orson -- escorted them that were most famously flown by the tuskegee airmen, the only unit we have and never lost a bomber. benjamin l. davis was the commander of the tuskegee airmen. he was a great leader. why? because he had simple sayings that he drilled into people. he said you know our fighters

cost $50,000 the bombers cost $250,000. do not lead the formation to prove you can shoot down a german fighter plane. protect the bomber, that's her job. there was a simple leadership strategy that resulted in their being the only unit in world war ii never to lose a bomber. i was talking to president bush about it and i told him i'd been thinking about it all night. he said he had been thinking about it all day too and hear her that happened on that day. when his life nearly ended. he was too young to have been through much leadership development except learning how to fly the plane but i also think he got better as he went along and i think you got better as you went along. i know i got better as i went along and i will say again i think giving people access to inside skills and training and also literally helping them to keep their heads on straight is

very very important, because anything that is really hard will become harder and then you will feel a lot of pressure. we were talking about this golf tournament yesterday. any kind of high-level competition you have got to work really hard to keep your mind, heart and spirit in the same place and not get in your way and never lose your focus. i think there are ways to do that then are quite effective and i hope they will be helpful to a lot of people. >> margaret and stephanie just a really nice job of describing the program and telling us the kinds of people that we are looking for in this presidential leadership scholars program. but let me ask each of you to tell us a little bit more about precisely the kind of people who you would like to have

participate? what would be a successful kind of person who could benefit from this program president bush? >> for sure we want people from all walks of life and different political persuasions. we want people who have shown the capacity to succeed. people who work hard and you to work with others in a good way. people who you know who have launched a career in whatever field. remember the white house fello fellows. bill and i both had the honor of meeting with the white house fellows, an extraordinary group of people who would spend time in the white house. these were people who were highly motivated people. it's not exactly like the white

house fellows for somewhere to the white house fellows. there is an application process and one of the challenges by the way and we hope people who support this program helped us to be aware of the program and to apply for the program. you know i mean do you have any other thoughts on that one? >> i will give you one example. i would like for us to have some people who are involved in nongovernmental organizations like our foundation work that operate at a smaller level but do really great work but need to figure out how to ramp it up and do so with the help of modest donors. so they become sustainable in their community or in their state or wherever. i think they could benefit from this.

i would like to have some people who are entrepreneurs in the program who are working in areas with enormous potential but significant uncertainty for america's economic future. and i would like to go back to one thing george said, i would like to get some people from dramatically different backgrounds together with the charge to come up with something we can do together. for example when the tea party first got organized, a lot of the early people who are interested in it were not involved with anybody big, anybody rich. they just thought the government had let them down and therefore they thought both the public and private sectors have gotten too big and if everything works the way they thought their hometown or neighborhood or their upbringing worked things would be all right. i would like for some people

like that to be paired with community activists in african-american and hispanic and immigrant asian neighborhoods with projects that figure out what they can do together to have both the right culture and support system. i think we could do a lot of things like that really would help develop leadership and a skill that we are beginning to see atrophy in america which is listened to people who disagree with us. we have mates so much progress. we are less racist, sexist and but we don't want to be around people that disagree with us. [laughter] only two people have this number and they are both related to me. i hope i'm not being told i'm about to become a premature

grandfather. >> that would make national news. [laughter] the presidential scholarship program, you know? >> i don't think so. >> president bush i have been admonished in asking these questions not to encourage you guys to -. >> thank you. >> here we are in the museum. that requires leadership on your part. >> it does not want to try to exercise it but if either of usna political announcements, endorsements or predictions you would like to make now would be a really fun time. [laughter] >> is like the time remember the woman in canada asked us about gary dramatically said what about another clinton bush matchup and my answer was the first one didn't turn out too good. [laughter] >> okay. i'm going to exercise some

leadership and not let us get in a further off. but i'm interested in answers that both of you gave to the last question in talking about what kind of scholars you want wanted. neither of you talked about politicians or elected officials. i gather that's not the core purpose of the scholarship program. it's not to train a bunch of political leaders. >> no but i think it's important that i know he does too. one of the things i would like to do if we got into the, i thought about it the other day. i want to see all the way, the broadway play about johnson passing the silver rights act. brian cranston won the tony award for it. i liked him why better as lbj than -- but he's a great actor.

i liked the movie lincoln because it showed abraham lincoln as a politician making those dreaded deals. the even to choate -- vote against slavery. i would wouldn't mind having a leadership program which forces people to talk about the compromises that leaders have to make and which ones are more principled and which ones aren't. and as it only determined by the end or don't you have to have some limits on on the means too? i hope we do have some of that in there because that's really important. if you lose the ability to keep the door open to people. i remember one day trent lott jumped all over me in a sunday morning talk show and that i was acting like a spoiled brat. i call them on the phone and the said oh my god had to call to

chew me out? and i said e but not for what you you think that he you think could be said what do you mean? i said you worked hard last week, didn't you and you agree because somebody suggested you do the sunday morning talk shows and you woke up exhausted with a headache. you are mad you have to go. they baited you when you got there and you took the day. he said that's exactly what happened, how did you know that? [laughter] i'm telling you this because it made us better friends. i cared about whether we could go to work the next week. those things i would like to help teach people. mandela kept the strength to keep the leaders of the parties in his government. he had them in his government. we are going to have to do some pretty graphical things like that over the next 10 or 15

years if we are going to create real decision-making processes to work. i'm not against having people in politics in this but i'm against giving it a particular political cast. >> i agree with the. i'm also concerned about the fact that people look at the political process and public service and they say i don't want to serve. who wants to get involved with that? who wants their reputation besmirched? i think this program, hopefully this program will inspire good people to serve and say look is worth the cost. it's worth the price, and we didn't mention the military. i hope the military participate. i think it would be very important to have people wear the uniform go through the program like this. i'm not adverse to politicians. people saying politics is noble, i want to serve as a verbal

assault of the program. i think it would be wonderful dividend. >> let's talk a little bit about the curriculum, the presidential scholars program. margaret and stephanie described it. it's got four key themes to curriculum. first is communications and vision. second is decision-making. third is implemented in persuasion and the fourth is coalition building. in your mind president clinton is any one of those more important than the other's? >> well the bible says there is no vision that people perish but the truth is if the test is you ought to be better off when you quit him when he started you better do everything. you have to have a vision which is articulated to turn it into a strategy and then you have to be able to execute the strategy to

pass a bill if you are trying to pass a bill or if you are not in the political context just to go and do it. you have to be able to assemble a team. as i say people that know things you don't and have skills you don't to do that and to build support for it. i think all of those things are exceedingly important and then you have to stay at it. one of the things that i hardly ever see george that i don't think of this and we never talk about it but i watched all those debates he had with vice president gore. not a single one of them did either one of them get asked what a big going to do when they blow up the world trade center? if you take a leadership position, you very often particularly an uncertain world if you don't give thought to trying to do what you said you were going to do when you ran you feel like you've let yourself and your supporters

down or if you take a job as chairman of the company, the same thing. or you start a small business. on the other hand you can't ignore the incoming fire. that's what really damaged our friend mbeki in south africa. he said in mandela created a modern political state. if you pretend like it doesn't happen you have to deal with that and then you have to think of things that aren't in the headlines that will prepare for the future. you have to do all of that. i don't think he can to segregate these things. that's one of the things i hope will come out of this program. ..

>> >> it will be out november november 11. [laughter] >> i think i could put one

together. [laughter] be ready for the christmas season. [laughter] >> you have worked to lot with 41 and you are known to be very close with him. what leadership of the attributes of 41 had impressed you the most that you want to use through the leadership program? >> where did you deal with president bush 41 the couple of things are never in doubt which is important. his goodwill is never in doubt. we have been working together a long time now we have been out of office so long time. he did things when most

people added gauge that they stop doing things. jimmy carter did the same thing. respect that he is 90 and just went to china to celebrate the 35th anniversary. when you deal with president bush you realized immediately that he is a person of good will. whenever he dashes it is because he thinks it is right and wants to help somebody. that cannot be under estimated as an attribute. then everything else you try to do is a lot harder. the people that actually knew the that i had a relationship with republicans who supported the irish peace process for

example, we had delayed up it is important when people see that. we can all do the right thing when we are presented when we understand the main players. but the best leaders had enough imagination and empathy they can feel the situation that they have never been in. bush 41 was great about that. otherwise he would not push for that ada he wanted the clean-air standards even though he was in kennebunkport.

when he was a congressman one of the few republicans southerners to vote for the open housing law of 1968. why was that? he could live forever he wanted he could put himself in a position of someone who had said different life with a different life possibilities and changes that is one of the most important characteristics a leader can have a he has always been great at that. >> thank you. you are right. president bush, the same question about lyndon johnson. >> i met lyndon johnson twice. once when i was visiting my grandfather who was a colleague of his in the senate. and once later on when he

retired back to texas. he was the big guy and i was struck out imposing his physical be was a guy suspect -- i suspect his strongest quality was his persuasiveness. [laughter] particularly to get this civil-rights bill passed one of the greatest legislative seats in history and lyndon johnson power did through. i don't think we can teach size but people could be inspired by his lesson. >> host: and me ask you to to talk about each other. [laughter] >> beautiful man. beautiful. [laughter]

>> what in president bush's leadership style stands out for you that you want taught at the scholars program? >> when he decided what he thought was right, he went for it. sometimes i did not agree but i recognize it you can argue note child left behind but it reflected a concern the achievement levels of all american kraft students.

a kennedy held to and that was an interesting couple. and he said i don't do do wants and was bashed by like that in situations the sometimes clarity is required and he said in a circumstance that clarity was more important than adding of three paragraph decision. i learned a lot watching him over the years. i tell people all the time you don't agree with my

politics civil the worldbeaters i caved in touch with i had an occasional lazy person are not real smart person and an occasional croak. of most of them were smarted and hard-working and honest. whether i agree did they did what they thought was right to. watching how they do is very helpful. i tend to look like i.m. i said he used to make fun of himself you always want to be under estimated by adversaries he consistently benefited by being under estimated. [laughter] so did i. for a totally different reason. i watched the way he thought through things and tried to approach them with clarity and decisiveness with great

admiration. read the book and you will understand why. his other book. i was one of the non right wing that bob that it was one heck of a book. >> thank you very much. there is a lot to it meyer with bill clinton he is an awesome communicator. he can lay out the case and get people all across the political spectrum to listen. and a part in cpac to my dad you to have great empathy for people if you do then people want to listen then when they start you can convince them. you to make tough decisions listened carefully and

decided through the case studies says some point time leader has to decide and you did that and told the way to the giveaway that people can understand. and they stuck by them. is that enough? [laughter] that was a lot shorter than your answer i now. [laughter] >> but i feel equally powerful. >> thank you. [laughter] former chief of staff i appreciate you saying that. [laughter] >> president bush i will ask the last question to you

what it buys its you have for president clinton on the leadership policies would dash qualities necessary to be a good granddad? >> be prepared to fall completely in love again. you will not believe it. you just don't believe the joy and the fun and i am looking forward to talking to you after that child is born and real hope the very best for chelsea and the child health the strong but that will be an awesome period for you. get ready also to be the lowest person in the pecking order aid your family. [laughter] [applause]

>> this has been a great conversation that you are coming together in support of a great program which will i think the terrific for what it says to the country. [applause] >> that was a terrific conversation the key for your commitment to the program these looks have a

lot to say. thank you for being here and in a moment i will invite you to be a us social par and recognize secretary clinton has dropped in. [applause] date you for being here. [applause] each and every one of view was invited because you are or know a terrific presidential scholar prospect. the program aimed at working professionals beginning in the early part of next year with the four men on the of web site to nominate us

dollar or apply yourself. we have great hope for this program would it will mean to our country now i invite you to join as on the terrace for social time. thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] t to de

with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection the quorum call is suspended. suspended. >> mr. president i rise today to address an issue of grave importance to national security of the united states. that is the threat from the radical terrorist organization known as the islamic state in iraq and syria. or simply as islamic state now it claims to control territory in a grotesque parody of the nation's states.

isis is the steady of oppression and brutality. that conducts ethnic cleansing against religious minorities in the region that targets christians and attempting to subject the local population to the strictest forms of sharia law and and isis has gruesomely murdered a u.s. civilians and journalist on the public stage. is to come to no surprise that the people of united states are deeply concerned about this development we are concerned wrote the inability of our government to anticipate this threat we're concerned about the brutal acts of oppression against the weak and the hopeless and we hear concerned about ices -- isis

assets that fuels the murderous rampage. of the walkout -- above all the threat that isis poses not only to the close allies but our citizens here in the homeland. there has been a lot of talk about developing a strategy to combat isis i propose common sense steps we should take immediately to combat this scourged. first, of the time has come and it is beyond time for us to secure our borders. representing the state of texas which does the border nearly 2,000 maya long --

2,000 miles long i know hall and secure the border is. this week with the anniversary of september 11 and upon us we can have no illusions that terrorists will not try to make good on their specific threats on america and as long as the border is not secure we make it too easy for them to carry through on those promises. rumored ices activities -- isis activities should unite us all to make border security a top priority rather than the afterthought or something to be held hostage for political negotiations. second, we should take common-sense steps to make fighting for or supporting isis and affirmative renunciation of american citizenship.

we know today there over 100 americans who have a joint isis to take up arms alongside the jihadist and others from the repeated union and we know they try to return to the countries of origin and to carry out terrorist attacks there. we know this because we know of member return to belgium attacking innocent visitors at a jewish museum slaughtering for people. it was reported today he was plotting an even larger attack on paris on bastille day. in an edition august 11 and accused sympathizer was arrested jfk airport trying to re-enter the united states

so we know the threat is real. mr. president that is why i have today filed legislation the expatriate terrorist act of 2014 which would amend the existing statute governing renunciation of united states citizenship to designate fighting for ross style foreign government or organization as an affirmative renunciation of citizenship. by fighting for isis u.s. citizens have expressed their desire to be citizens of the islamic state and that cannot and will not peacefully coexist with remaining american citizens the desire to become a citizen of a terrorist organization that expressly desired to wage war on

american people has demonstrated of brutal capacity to do so murdering american civilians on the global stage to promise to bring that home to america. we should not be facilitating their efforts by allowing fighters to come back to america with american passports to walk freely in our cities to carry out unspeakable acts of terror. it is my hope of legislation i am introducing today will earn support on both sides of the ideal we will see the body come together there are many partisan issues to divide us from acts of terror, we are all as one and it is my hope.

the third thing we should do is everything possible to make shirts isis understands there are serious ramifications for threatening to attack the united states for murdering american citizens. with its financial assets is a part of the action because of the very nature the response must be principally military. all americans are wary of though long and costly wars we're tired of sending sons and daughters to potentially die in a distant land nobody wants to see extended engagement but at the same time i don't believe the people are one and a bit reluctant to defend the

lives of fellow americans the american people can see the grim threat represented by isis and the need for decisive action we should concentrate on a coordinated and overwhelming air campaign that has the clear military objective of destroying the capability of isis to carry out terror attacks on the united states we must remain focused on the clear military objective if we hope to be successful and we cannot engage in photo op foreign policy your press release foreign policy to drop the bomb were shooting a missile but not having a strategy that is dictated by clear and direct military objectives into the national security interest.

we should be perfectly clear as well that any action we take against isis is no way contingent on resolving the civil war in syria. that conflict is a humanitarian tragedy with the brutal dictator against terrorists and the sad reality is there are no good options for the united states in this fight. we may have had less radical options less than three years ago but are not currently available today. the obama administration had proposed arming rebel forces but it contained the terrorist factions associated with isis. the. >> i was told the lowe's robles were our friends and

aside and iran were our enemies but now in the face of isis we hear that aside may be a refreshened and iran and now isis is our enemy. this makes no sense it is a dangerous cycle reminiscent of george orwell 1984 and he wrote'' the fact that this moment for example, oceanic was at war with asia an alliance with a station actually only four years there were at war. officially the changing partners never happened. oceanic was at war with eurasia therefore it had always been at war with eurasia. the enemy of the moment always represented absolute

evil and any path for future agreement was impossible. this administration has no sense of past or future. all of those familiar with the human carnage inflicted by the civil war in syria pray for its end. the goal of our action should not be to end it by supporting aside. the enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. not the nibbler of another enemy is to also be clear should not be contingent on political reconciliation between shiites and baghdad

the administration has become distracted by the hope to achieve the of reconciliation but there we're engaged in a sectarian civil war since 63280 the height of hubris and ignorance to suggest the american president can resolve of 15 year-old -- 1500 year old civil war to have full-size -- both sides embrace each other we always hope for reconciliation and peace we should not be so naive to make our national security contingent on and resolving sectarian civil war.

seeking to promote a duty -- utopia into switzerland is nothing less than a fool's errand. likewise it should be perfectly clear any action we take is then no way contingent on consensus of the international community. how america is left to have many good friends and allies to understand that threats are eager to combat and we welcome their support. but in order that this we done right it must be led by the united states unfettered by the rules of the engagement to impede our action. in a coalition that is not a

strategy. that determines the coalition. not the other way around it is heartening to hear the voice is for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to raise the alarm of threat posed by isis m. president obama has signaled his intention later this week. it is well past time for him to do so as is recent statements from his admission on august 28 we don't have a strategy at to his suggestion on september 3rd our best bet is to try to shrink isis fear of influence and tell there a manageable problem. those comments are not encouraging. the objective is not to make

isis manageable. the objective is to protect the national security interest of the united states and to destroy a terrorist to have declared jihad on our nation. neither are the two sayings that we already know that the president will propose in his do game plan. namely, he will not be requesting authorization from congress for military action against isis and those policies pursued by his administration the there are encouraging. i asked the president to reconsider both of these points. while isis is part of the

spurge of terrorism that has bedeviled the west for decades, it is equally obvious representing a new strain, the president is reportedly considering an action that could last as long as three years and may require a range of actions. this is indeed the case it is incumbent upon him to come to congress to lay out his strategy so we and the american people are clear. i would note you have been particularly vocal anti-nuclear to defend the constitutional authority of congress to declare war. i would notice it is beneficial for the effort of the president to come to congress because doing so

will force the president to do what has been lacking for so long to lay out a specific and clear military objective. water we trying to accomplish? to undermine the national security interest of america and the president as commander in chief has constitutional authority to respond to the imminent crisis to respond to a clear and present danger. but with this instance the president is not suggesting this. even suggesting engage military action and it is therefore in a consistent with the constitution for him to attempt to pursue that action without recognizing the constitutional authority of his body and it is my hope

he will do so and we will have the substantive debate about the military objective to destroy isis and prevent them to prevent acts of terror to murder innocent americans. with that need against a new actor in must be admitted the counterterrorism policy has not been a success. they label the 2009 attack on for a good as workplace violence even though the terrorist attack and the recently announced to become a citizen of the islamic state they also missed connecting the dots to

uncover the radicalization of the brothers sat results said in the attack on the boston marathon and it should be noted that the elder brother worshiped at the same cambridge massachusetts mosque where the isis head of propaganda were shipped. this jihad could reach back and directly take the lives of american citizens at home. his administration has failed to respond effectively to benghazi september 11, 2012 where four americans were murdered. including the first ambassador killed in line of duty since 1979. into spiral into anarchy. and day completely missed

the threat to the point the president was under the misapprehension that the group was the terrorist equivalent of the junior varsity a few months ago. we cannot afford to return to these destructive policies given the key is proposed by isis i hope this body will stand together in one as bipartisan unity to secure the borders and to change our laws to pass the legislation introduced today to make clear anti-american who takes up arms has renounced their citizenship. so that congress as one 4/8 kim protect americans here at home and this requires clear decisive unified action. and it is my hope all of us will come together to support such action and the

president will submit to the authority of congress to protect america against isis in day concentrated military campaign to take them out. onsene quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection the quorum call is suspended. mr. durbin: mr. president, i chair the subcommittee of the senate judiciary committee that senate judiciary committee that >> mr. president i said chair the committee subcommittee of human rights and civil rights obviously your most important serious charges to consider proposals to amend the constitution.

resolution 19 as a democracy for all was the first considered by the constitution subcommittee since 2009 when i became the chair. the u.s. constitution and the wisdom of its framers has endured for generations. have established and so have my colleagues, a high bar for suggestions to amend that constitution. that is why the majority leader and patrick leahy and i were committed to ensure this proposal and that until nearly twentieth century century, most americans were not allowed to vote and even after the franchise was legally expanded a racist campaign prevented many african-americans for

posting. landmark decisions that helped to make the of one person one vote a reality. in my time in generations be constantly vigilant about threats to these victories that goes to the blood sweat years and lives of many americans. that is why we are engaged today because the right to vote is under siege and but it has made it harder and then to drown out the voices of the average american's. then ieard someone say they try to repeal but our efforts into did the damage

done by five activist conservative supreme court justices have the written and distorted the first amendment with censuses united and others these five justices overturned a century of legal and constitutional precedent to give of privilege and corporate tie-ins that power to bring out the voices of ordinary americans and that is exactly what is happening. big money donors the koch brothers, sheldon adelson and the corporate interests they represent certainly deserves a seat at the table but the size of their big accounts does not entitle them to buy every seat at the table, controlled the agenda and silence their critics but unfortunately this is what we see across the nation even being played

out with this campaign and it has flooded out elections and should seek contributions. >> spending by outside groups has tripled since the last midterm election. compared to. >> into this and six sets courante kidding 355 million and well-heeled individuals. in june 2012 for assisting office said.

>> harris carolina that just put with set up state spending in 2010 came from one-man, a millionaire conservative right-wing activist. as i stand and speak there is a super pac on debt air attack the we in my home state. the best we can trace it is to one individual who has spent $700,000 in negative ads against reid on radio and television or perhaps more will follow. that is the nature of the world we live in. members of congress with reelection and abide by strict rules of disclosure. but when it comes to these

individuals with citizens united kamal bets are off and some of the biggest and most frequent spenders are on the republican side but that influence is happening on the rights and the left. many have created supertax of the aside as a defense and unfortunately a tactical strategy that has been dictated by the supreme court decisions. sadly all of this money fight erodes our democracy drowning help the voices of everyday citizens. the same five justices so for word but the republican legislature in new to restrict the right to vote.

is no coincidence they have a disproportionate impact on low in the come borders for the chief justice roberts that is a preservative of all others. he pledged to be a an empire with issues like the right to vote. because of the judicial activism and chief justice roberts and his four allies with the right to go average americans is now a i greater risk since the great jim crow era. mr. president, two years ago i decided to take my subcommittee for hearings in the states of ohio and talent -- colorado one group known as alex fed is not

lobby groups but creates model legislation dreams up ways to dream up the opportunity to vote. how do they do this? some call for the presentation of academic cards and others said we will limit the time so it to look them to ohio and spirit badass the first panel. town with the business but that led to his aegis of the religious the chair. tell me then never offended jewess he could remember one

case or to over a course of years. it is clear. . . in either political party that condones voter fraud and voter abuse. period. but to restrict the right to vote of millions of americans in the name of stopping voter fraud that doesn't exist, well, it's time to ask the more basic question: what's the real reason? the real reason is to restrict the right to vote. it is hard to believe that republicans in state legislatures and even some in this chamber, the party of abraham lincoln, for goodness sakes, is party to this effort to restrict the right to vote across america. for goodness sakes, i've been involved if election campaigns

which i have won and those which i have not won. i have always felt if it were a fair election, so be it. let the people speak. that is what a democracy is all about. but when you start playing with the rules, when you start saying, well, we're going to try to make it tougher for people to vote, even those who are legally entitled to vote, i think, frankly, you've crossed the line, which we should not cross in this country ever. fire hoses, growling dogs and insidious poll taxes have now been replaced with a well-funded campaign to now deny millions their right to vote and a flood of special interest money drowning out the voices of average americans. is that your vision of america? is that your vision of this country in the future? where your opportunity to vote is now restricted more and more even without any indication of voter fraud or voter abuse? when your opportunity to be informed about the candidates

and their positions is, in fact, overwhelmed by those who come in like the koch brothers and those on the left, too, to spend millions of dollars. i might say, mr. president, i introduced a bill a few years back for public financing of campaigns. there was one valued republican who stood up who agreed to cosponsor my bill and only one -- arlen specter. arlen specter. the senator from pennsylvania, republican senator. what happened to him? i can tell you what happened. the late arlen specter was challenged in his republican requirement by one of those on the far right in his party, and he couldn't win as he looked at the polls. he switched parties and he became a democrat. i lost my only republican on the senate financing when he joined us on this side of the aisle. he lost the democratic primary. he went on, finished his term

and passed away. he was the only republican with the courage to stand up for public financing to change this mess we have. i can just tell you, we're reaching a point where mere more tallies, individuals who don't happen to be multimillionaires, really want nothing to do with this political business. it has become the hobby of high rollers. the two candidates for the highest offices in my home state now are multimillionaires, playing with their own money now, putting millions into their campaigns. i'm not envious of their wealth. i have said it publicly and i will say it again. i am only one powerball ticket away from matching their wealth. so i'm not jealous of them. but it says something about the political process, doesn't it, that someone can put in in $9 million, $10 million, $12 million of their own money and that supreme court can say well, they are just exercising their right of free speech. really? i didn't see the word cash in the first amendment. i didn't even see the word money

in the first amendment. that's what we're up against. senate joint resolution 19, which is before us today, is a constitutional amendment. it is narrowly tailored and it is a proposal to respect and restore the first amendment. it empowers congress and state legislatures, the elected representatives of the american people, to set reasonable content-neutral -- let me underline that -- content neutral limits on the amount of money wealthy individuals and special interest donors can give to candidates. it overturns citizens united by authorizing congress and state legislatures -- the presiding officer: the senator's time is expired. mr. durbin: i ask consent for five additional minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: i thank the senator from texas. it overturns citizens united by authorizing congress and state legislatures to prohibit corporations and unions from spending money from their treasuries to influence elections. our amendment will ensure that

elections are contests with the best ideas, contests where mere more tallies, a group i mentioned earlier, have the same chance to succeed as multimillionaires. that's why our amendment is supported by 60 diverse advocacy organizations and a majority of the american people. politicians may not get it, but the american people do. they can see what's happening to this bidding war we now call elections. they understand the flood of television. we have one senatorial candidate on our side. i think she has been subjected to $15 million in independent expenditures, negative ads into her state. that's been going on for almost a year. she is going to weather the storm and be re-elected, incidentally, but imagine that. $15 million from special interest groups just showering her with hate and venom for month after weary month. is that what our political process has come down to? opponents of our amendment argued that any limit whatsoever in election spending violates the first amendment, but just as

there is no constitutional right to buy an election, free speech doesn't give anyone the right to violate or overwhelm the constitutional rights of others. apparently, five conservative supreme court justices believe the wealthy and elite have a greater right to free speech because they have more money. our opponents also argue that corporations are people. give me a great lake. corporations are granted the advantages of perpetual life, property ownership and limited liability to enhance their efficiency as an economic entity, according to justice rehnquist in one of his opinions, but he went on to say in the same opinion these properties so beneficial in the economic sphere pose special dangers in the political sphere. that was rehnquist speaking about giving powers to the corporations which cede the obvious. while some corporations have rightfully been extended beyond everyday americans to corporations, citizens united went too far. living, breathing americans face challenges that these legally

created entities will never face. corporations never get married. they don't raise kids. they don't care for sick relatives. they can't vote in elections or run for office. corporations have the right to be heard for sure, but the right to control an election with their bank account, there's something wrong with that decision. our amendment restores the basic long-standing principle that corporations shouldn't be able to wield their enormous economic power to sway federal elections. our amendment restores and protects the first amendment for all americans. i new jersey my colleagues to vote for senate joint resolution 19. i expect a strictly partisan vote. i am sorry if that happens, but i expect it. when we even came up for disclosure to disclose who was giving to campaigns, we couldn't get the republicans to give us support. just disclose who is giving the money. no. keep it secret. that was their position. now they not only want to keep it secret, they want to make

sure that those that are abusing the process by sending in huge sums of money on behalf of corporations and individuals are going to be protected. well, they may protect the special interests, but they will do it at the expense of average americans who are losing their faith, losing their faith in this process and in the institutions it creates. restore that faith. support senate joint resolution 19. let's amend the constitution and make citizens united a vestige make citizens united a vestige

>> thank you so much for coming out tonight we have a wonderful panel of speakers we hope this will be an informal discussion but which we can be opened with each other not only to explore culture but where we as americans are headed in the future. each panelist has been given a questionnaire and ahead of time with a brief response prepared after they are dead we will do follow-up questions. if you had your cell phones please turn them off. if you have twitter we're

using eight #so if you have comments or questions please post those and we will address those throughout the conversation. we will start in the evening over here to my left and activist scholar who intersects race and religion of popular culture and assistant professor of the apology at purdue university, she received her ph.d. from cultural anthropology and as a graduate from the school of foreign service at georgetown. she published numerous scholarly writings and artistic director endeavors and as a published poet living is long outloud. you can also find her on the cover of the magazine this month for the focus is on the in depth look of

discussions about race and the american muslim community. and apologetically muslim. please welcome. [applause] >> i first want to say thank you for the great introduction and also for the invitation to participate in this conversation tonight. should i read the question? with. >> what i wanted to know is what is the basic premise of culture? not just the basic premise but jumping into present-day what we currently see with the next wave of american muslims it seems they are testing boundaries to

express themselves that would be quite controversial. what is going on? >> i can answer the question to address the misconception that dominates the way muslims talk about culture the misconception is the idea we are in dire need of the muslim american culture because we already have that. we are already doing muslim american culture it is so way human beings make the world makes sense. how retouching anti-stand here and feel and also

culture is made by living so the minute the people live in this place we call america as a muslim that is where we begin to have american muslim culture. at the same time however we also want to think about the notion into ways. first with a capital c on culture than the things that we share over race, gender, class and then the second level because the plural form is necessary because of diversity so cultural forms may look different for different communities so take an example. last year the chaplain in northwestern university read

the koran on -- the chiron to the mixed gender audience and this was a new ground breakings sort of thing that gets in other communities and on the there has never been a moment where the woman was denied the opportunity to read the quaran in front of men and women as we celebrate the leadership in this community we don't identify as a new saying but it's a shift was one american muslim culture representative of an extension and at the same time we don't lose sight of the fact it is a persistent problem with culture with a

capital city -- sea. so we have challenges or things that are more heroin like domestic violence so that is the challenge within the muslim culture with a capital c but in the question i you gave you talked about some examples of the new wave that is testing boundaries so you may have for example, decides to tie her scarf and a turban and style that maybe she is testing her boundary but she is not doing something that is new

despite "the new york times" may want us to think so. varian is laughing because i posted on facebook how many times can reach right the same article? so this language to identify the shift of the community to understand the muslim culture what that is and has always been an existence as long as we live in this place but also to pay attention and to the fact there is something much more powerful of the narrative as this woman has a stylistic traits but then the

narrative i woke up one day and put myself in a turban. [laughter] more importantly the question i am interested to pose what kind of boundaries are being tested? are they just reinventing white supremacy is hip-hop the backdrop for their center of the universe? it now claims to be long because like everybody else we have black friday as a prop. i think in terms of then our community and across our differences there is a lot of anxiety. how we are seen or featured in the media.

anybody is tired of seeing the of. clad woman but at the same time we cannot just flip as one over simplified narrative for another. vs three rightabout domestic violence but now we have this woman who does all these things bashir is one-dimensional and when it comes to the questions of culture she fundamentally does not believe that black life matters and it is still part of her story. what i like us to think about but with two points i

will close the question of representation they often end articulate what this one scholar calls simplify complex representation. they don't shift the status quo. there would be of muslim but though was calling the fbi. the it is in the context we want these representations that are better bet but we

basically have to crush the up dash stream of react better or look more peaceful that the people who like us will like us and from that measure we learn from the black experience african-americans have learned respectability politics it does not matter you are a professor at harvard did your profile they will still shoot you and leave you is the street and played you for your own death and call your community animals. so it is not about replacing one overly simplified the ocean with another but creating cultural production that offers something excellent in his quality but also demanding and a transformative.

there is an american muslim woman grammy nominated artist that is from baltimore maryland. >> it is called we are not wailes but many people read it as a critique of hip-hop or black culture that it is all about money and playing with no money or substance. there she is an amazing singer the song is excellent but she also makes a point so i want to share one of those points.

his she says we don't know that true blue blood played monday they take it to their grave money. cotton money then she asks what about that tax money? oh real money? africa's rich soil but the? british india company old monied goldman the cold money. what is genius is she says there is a discourse in this country that looks at those other zero press store marginalize our subjugated to become responsible for their own situation. you don't know how to use save your money.

what about that money through the enslavement of human beings? what about that it's still benefits from today from those who colonized the subjugated people. so responding to the of critique that she gave through black urban culture but connected that to people throughout the world began to that is a genius representative but also of american muslim genius. think about culture what is and what we have and can create i think this says in a simple of dynamic incisive intelligent and robust

cultural production that is possible for our community. thank you. [applause] >> we did just get as tweet the muslim culture should be closer to the lands of islam otherwise why are we here? unity means nothing without it. we can address that but i want to introduce dr. jackson the chair of islamic thought and culture and director for the center for thought and culture at university of southern california also a scholar of the american learning institute and published several books named with the bulls 500 influential in and out world. it is tied into what the doctor addressed at the time

of the profit culture was a respected part of life can culture me a part of the muslim american identity? the american muslim culture as it pertains to people who have been here for generations that a lot of this stuff that we go through has already been done before. of what about the muslim culture as it pertains to immigrant muslims? what is the place? >> speaking speaking language

[speaking native language] >> this is a complex question and trying to read between the lines and one of the best ways to do that is to pick upon the doctor said that we are muslims and before we are muslims we're human beings. there is a more natural than cultural production. they are naturally producers we may draw from instructions but the profit said is the of collection to

where the profit says the most stressful not the best but the most truthful names are to. one is constantly toiling the occupied as those of production and the other is anxious and cultural production in some ways is really about taking that edge of the of the cosmic anxious is that we feel as human beings this is why the german philosopher once said it is that cosmic year where do we come from? why are we here where we going? that is the mother of all culture and all human being