First, fight corruption – because there is a direct link between corruption and the rise of violent extremism. Nothing does more to undermine respect for the rule of law than the perception that governments consider themselves to be above the law. How astonishing it is that billions of dollars were stolen – maybe $50 billion from the Government of Nigeria, maybe $30 billion from the Government of Yemen – and that is stealing from the education and the health and the infrastructure and the future of the citizens of those countries. And what about the banks that deposit that money and second it for those who have stolen it? It’s little wonder that there is great unrest in certain parts of the world. And if we’re serious about fighting terrorism, then we have to expose corruption, and protect whistleblowers, and prosecute perpetrators, and throw the guilty in jail. And at the same time, we have to strive for improved governance across the board. What does that mean? That means preventing graft, strengthening democratic and accountable governance, where basic freedoms are protected and people have the ability to express their views openly, without harassment, and without fear. After all, if citizens are going to respect their governments, then governments need to respect their citizens.
Now, second, we have to invest in education. I can’t emphasize this enough. Globally, right now – (applause) – right now as we sit here in Aspen, in these extraordinary surroundings, 120 million children and adolescents are out of school. We can’t settle for a policy, my friends, that plans to get these kids in school in 10 years. You’re 10 years old today, nine years old, seven years old – you’re going to be 17, 18 before somebody starts to teach you something? They need to go to school now. And we need an emergency global education effort. When I was in Pakistan as a senator, I went up to the area of the earthquake you remember a few years ago, up near the mountains of the Himalayas, and I remember these kids would come down out of the mountains, and they were in a tent with desks and a chair, and they had uniforms somehow that someone had gotten them. And half of these kids were in school for the first time in their life. And why were they there? They were there because of an emergency that brought them there.
Well, I’m telling you I don’t think we should wait for a flood or an earthquake. We have an emergency now and we should treat this as if it were an emergency now, and make sure these kids are getting the education that they need.
Now, terrorist recruiters are on the prowl – (applause) – if I were running for office, I’d milk that; I’d – (laughter) – try to – but I’m not. I’m sorry. (Laughter and applause.) Terrorist recruiters are literally prowling around. I have a foreign – I won’t tell you which country, but in Africa, my counterpart told me how you grab these kids at age five, and they pay them, and then they proselytize, then they don’t need to proselytize because their minds are gone, and they’ve got them, and then they don’t have to pay them. Then they go out and get the next group. And my counterpart, the foreign minister of this country, said to me, “You know, they have a plan for 30 years or 35 years; we don’t even have a five-year plan.”
So think about it. To win the battle of ideas, we have to ensure that kids everywhere actually have schools to go to, that schools don’t preach hate and radical views, but they offer an opportunity to prepare for a better life. And guess what? That does take a little bit of money. Not as much as people think, but I am convinced when you think of the other side on which we wind up paying for all of this, it is far cheaper to do it up front and far more effective in so many different ways.
Third thing we need to do is close the gap between what students learn in class and the skills that they’ll need in the workplace, in today’s workplace. And that means addressing unequal access to unemployment and promoting lifelong learning and on-the-job training, not just in other countries, but also right here at home, above all. (Applause.) And we need to – we have an effort called Global Connect which we’ve started, because we’re trying to connect the other 60 percent of the people in the world who do not have the internet yet and need it.
Fourth, we have to give entrepreneurs and small business people everywhere the chance to translate their good new ideas into thriving businesses, because innovation is by far, as I’m sure all of you here know, the primary source of job creation. And that means ending the suffocating stranglehold in some countries of militaries and bureaucracies that suck up the private sector to the detriment of the rest of the citizens in the country or the rest of the legitimate business people. It means opening doors to the full participation by women. And there’s literally no way we are going to meet the 21st century expectations with 20th century economic policies or 19th century standards of governance.
Finally, we need to draw the basic ideas that have guided America for centuries. I don’t know about you, I am obsessed by Hamilton and I keep listening to it. It’s magnificent – (laughter and applause) – and it reminds us about those ideas.
And if we are consistent in showing the world what we are for, we will never lack allies in the fight against bigotry and terror.
And the reason for that is clear. A group like Daesh – in fact, all of these groups: Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, all of them, they’re all the same in this regard – they don’t have any room for anyone else, folks. If they’re allowed to prevail it would utterly destroy the human mosaic that has existed in the Middle East for countless generations. It castigates – Daesh castigates Yezidis as devil worshippers. It tells Christians, quote, “We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women.” It says of Shia Muslims, quote, “We have a duty to kill them, fight them, displace them, and cleanse the land of their filth.”
Obviously, you’re here celebrating the best of our country, which is a festival of ideas, where we have every opportunity to share our opinions, discuss alternative policies, explain respectfully why those with whom we disagree are mistaken.
And one of the things I’ve learned after years of public life is there are no end to the tests for our country. The testing is constant. But compared to 1950, when the Aspen Institute was founded, we have tremendous advantages. Since then, through American leadership and the combined efforts of good people across the globe, average life expectancy is up 50 percent. Infant mortality is down by four-fifths. The number of democracies has nearly quadrupled. The rate of extreme poverty has just this year fallen below 10 percent for the first time ever. Overall, a child entering the world today is more likely than ever before in history to be born healthy, to have vaccinations, to be adequately fed, to be able to get the necessary education, and more likely to live a long life.
So I think we have every reason to be confident in the future, provided we are willing to make the investments that leaders have a responsibility to make, provided we do not allow the passions of the day to turn our heads and leave us fighting with one another, and provided we draw the right lessons from our own past. We also need to believe in basic facts and science.
Full remarks
