Bill Clinton: “New York City September 22, 1997 Mr. President, Secretary-General, distinguished guests: Five years ago, when I first…”

“New York City September 22, 1997 Mr. President, Secretary-General, distinguished guests: Five years ago, when I first addressed this Assembly, the cold war had only just ended, and the transition to a new era was beginning. Now, together, we are making that historic transition. Behind us we leave a century full of humanity's capacity for the worst and its genius for the best. Before us, at the dawn of a new millennium, we can envision a new era that escapes the 20th century's darkest moments, fulfills its most brilliant possibilities, and crosses frontiers yet unimagined. We are off to a promising start. For the first time in history, more than half the people represented in this Assembly freely choose their own governments. Free markets are growing, spreading individual opportunity and national well-being. Early in the 21st century, more than 20 of this Assembly's members, home to half the Earth's population, will lift themselves from the ranks of low-income nations. Powerful forces are bringing us closer together, profoundly changing the way we work and live and relate to each other. Every day millions of our citizens on every continent use laptops and satellites to send information, products, and money across the planet in seconds. Bit by bit, the information age is chipping away at the barriers, economic, political, and social, that once kept people locked in and ideas locked out. Science is unraveling mysteries in the tiniest of human genes and the vast cosmos.…”