It is the concept and the essence of citizenship that ties a pluralistic democracy. It is citizenship that makes the social contract a moral transaction, governing not only our behavior towards one another now, but toward generations past and future. We must remember that our society is more than a vast market and individuals are more than producers, consumers and entrepreneurs. We become a community of citizens bound by mutual commitment not by chance and circumstance. For freedom and obligation, liberty and duty, are intertwined.
Individual responsibility is at the heart of a true democratic citizenship.
So my dear seniors and graduates, please do not surrender to the charm of cynicism and cynics. That was followed by other facile characterizations, such as The Restive 30's, The Conformist 40's, The Beat Generation of the 50's, The Unstable 60's, the Me Generation of the 70's, and the Self-Contented Yuppies of the 80's. So I ask that you refuse the title of Generation X and insist on one that suits your highest ideals and aspirations. I know what those are, for I have witnessed firsthand your idealism, your under- standing, the high expectations you have of yourself and your peers, the 50,000 hours of service which you, as Brown students, give annually to Providence and the Rhode Island community. Through that public service and in many other ways, you have already affirmed the concept of citizenship as the social and political bond that unites us.