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“There’s nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”
William J. Clinton
My eyes welled with tears as I read this quote at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. I’d come here to learn about our 42nd president’s eight years in office. I left impressed with his unshakeable belief in the American people, how he worked to move our country –- and the world –- forward during his tenure, and with his continuing commitment to supporting careers in public service.
This was my third presidential library experience. As with previous visits to the libraries in Boston and Austin, it helped me understand the power of the Executive Branch. Bill Clinton occupied the White House from 1993 to 2001. Some would say not all his initiatives pass the test of time. But one thing seemed clear –- he tried mightily to make things better, and many things we now take for granted began during his two terms.
The Family Medical Leave Act was signed in 1993 during Clinton’s first year in office. Until then, companies weren’t required to provide job-protection and unpaid leave during family and medical emergencies. Clinton urged the chair of the House Judiciary Committee to bring The Brady Bill, a handgun violence protection act, out of committee before Veteran’s Day and it passed on Nov. 19, 1993. The short-lived bill mandated federal background checks on firearms purchasers. Other momentous events during his presidency include The Oslo Accords. Who can forget the image of Israel’s Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat shaking hands on the White House lawn? The Good Friday Agreement ushered in peace in Northern Ireland after decades of violence. The human genome was decoded, landmark bipartisan legislation was passed, including the Balanced Budget Act, Cold-War policies shifted, and we had the first Federal budget surplus in decades.
There were also controversial milestones: welfare reform, NAFTA and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which permitted gay and lesbian armed forces members to serve in the military provided they didn’t openly reveal their sexual orientation. And then there was impeachment by the House of Representatives and acquittal by the Senate over charges of perjury and obstructing justice related to Clinton’s relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.
I was privileged to meet Horace Springer, one of the Clinton Center’s founding volunteers. Now retired, Springer worked for the company that constructed the center. A fount of knowledge about the building, its contents and the site upon which it sits, Springer confided how much he enjoys seeing young kids enter the full-size Oval Office replica and sit behind the Resolute Desk. We shared a moment imagining how a visit here might inspire some young person to run for public office, and maybe, one day achieve the highest office in the land. Again, my eyes misted up.
The five-story steel-frame and glass Presidential Center building cantilevers towards the Arkansas River, evoking Clinton’s “bridge to the 21st century.” This metaphor positioned him as a forward-thinking candidate during his 1996 re-election campaign.
Graceful trees swayed in the breeze beside an 1899 red-brick train depot at the edge of the campus. On a warm spring day, it was hard to believe this site was once a “brownfield,” a toxic former railyard. These 30 acres feel like an urban park where you’d happily spend a sunny afternoon. Construction involved cleaning contaminated soil, then planting 750 trees. Opening in 2004 with LEED Silver certification, The Clinton Center was the first federal building to achieve “green building” status. It’s since been upgraded to LEED Platinum, and the former depot where passengers bought tickets to Memphis and Oklahoma City is Arkansas’ oldest LEED Gold building. It used to house the Clinton School of Public Service, where American and international students learn project management skills and how to create positive social change, earning a Master of Public Service degree. It’s now the Arkansas office of the Clinton Foundation.
This library is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which preserves documents that record our nation’s history and provides researchers with access to them. It contains 78 million pages of official records, 20 million emails, 2.6 million photographs and more documenting Clinton’s life, career and White House years.
Bill Clinton said, “I grew up around story tellers. Good ones. When I got into politics, I always felt the main point of my work was to give people a chance to have better stories.”
Nearly 5.5 million people from more than 50 countries have already visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Center. Make your way to Little Rock. You’ll come back with stories of your own.
Meanderings is an award-winning travel column by Mercer Island resident, Mindy Stern. For more essays, or to comment, visit her website www.mindysternauthor.com
