And the reason I bother to mention that to you is to get to the third and most important point.  Speech, communication -- to state the obvious -- is the currency of understanding.  It’s the currency with which we exchange ideas.  It’s stuff from which flows the sense of whether one is being truthful or honest or sincere.  We judge from the way people speak whether they’re being transparent and open, whether they're being cramped and cabined.  And so the thing that I’m most embarrassed about in my career of 38 years of having an opportunity to literally meet every major world leader in the last 38 years.  I was elected as a 30 -- 29-year-old, young man from modest means.  And I’ve had that opportunity.  The thing that always embarrasses me is -- and in the back of my head, I’m embarrassed in front of you -- I’m embarrassed I can’t speak to you in Chinese.  I would -- seriously -- I would rather be able to honor you and show my respect for you by speaking your language, as you honor me by speaking mine.

And so language, the ability not only to master the ability to put your ideas into words succinctly on a platform to communicate ideas to your own people, it is even more impressive when you have the capacity to do that and communicate your ideas, especially as future business and political and moral leaders of the world in the language of the people to whom you are speaking.

So I think there is no greater resource that a nation could seek than having a group of people who were able to communicate in the same idiom, the same dialect, the same -- the same pattern as the people to whom as they're speaking.  Because this is all about -- all about -- understanding one another.

Let me conclude by saying this.  My father was a high school-educated man.  He never went to a university and -- nor did my mother or anyone in my family at that time.  But my father was an elegant, decent man -- eloquent and elegant, decent man.  My father used to have an expression, and maybe it’s the best way for me to conclude my comments with you all, and I wish I could stay later -- longer, sincerely wish I could.  He used to say, Joe, the only conflict that is worse than one that is intended is one that is unintended.  The only conflict worse than one that is intended is one that is unintended.

Language, speech, interchange, openness, communication -- that is the material that can be used to lessen the possibility of the unintended, the unintended conflict.  I have great faith in all of you.  I mean this sincerely.  You’re an incredible country, an incredible people.  And the fact there’s a hundred thousand students here at this great university, the fact that there are millions of Chinese at universities throughout -- throughout this country; the fact that there’s 130,000 Chinese nationals speaking -- citizens, going to American universities is the stuff which gives me faith.

Believe in yourselves.  Believe in yourselves.  You have the capacity to do anything, anything anyone in the world has ever done.  And the more you do, the better off my granddaughter and my great granddaughter’s generation are going to be.

Thank you for the honor of being here.  (Applause.)  Thank you, all, very much.  (Applause.)

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