But you must know that progress is possible. Beyond our borders there is also reason for hope. Since the end of the Cold War the bonds among nations and the forces of commerce have grown stronger. There is now a greater understanding of our world's environmental challenges, and a willingness to do something about them. Freedom, democracy and free enterprise are on the march.
Large countries are much less likely to go to war with one another.
I am very proud to say that for the first time since the dawn of the nuclear age, no Russian missiles are pointed at the people of the United States. And I am equally proud to say that next week I will become the first American president in nearly 40 years to visit Russia when no American missiles are pointed at the people of Russia. Therefore, you who graduate today will have the chance to live in the most exciting, the most prosperous, the most diverse and interesting world in the entire history of humanity. Still you must face the fact that no time is free of problems, and we have new and grave security challenges. In this, the 20th century, millions of lives were lost in wars between nations, and in efforts by totalitarian dictatorships to stamp out the light of liberty among their subjects.