it is wrong, i suggest, it is a misreading of the constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the president should be removed from office. the constitution doesnt say that. the powers relating to impeachment are an essential check in the hands of the body of the legislature against and upon the encroachments of the executive. the division between the two branches of the legislature, the house and the senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge, the framers of this constitution were very astute. they did not make the accusers and the judgers -- and the judges the same person.
we know the nature of impeachment. weve been talking about it awhile now. it is chiefly designed for the president and his high ministers to somehow be called into account. it is designed to "bridle" the executive if he engages in excesses. "it is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men." the framers confided in the congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive.
the nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim. the federal convention of 1787 said that. it limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors and discounted and opposed the term "maladministration." "it is to be used only for great misdemeanors," so it was said in the north carolina ratification convention. and in the virginia ratification convention: "we do not trust our liberty to a particular branch. we need one branch to check the other."
"no one need be afraid" -- the north carolina ratification convention -- "no one need be afraid that officers who commit oppression will pass with immunity." "prosecutions of impeachments will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community," said hamilton in the federalist papers, number 65. "we divide into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused." i do not mean political parties in that sense.
five score years ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the emancipation proclamation. this momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. it came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the negro is still not free. one hundred years later, the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. one hundred years later, the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. one hundred years later, the negro is still languishing in the corners of american society and finds himself an exile in his own land. so we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
in a sense we have come to our nations capital to cash a check. when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and the declaration of independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every american was to fall heir. this note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
it is obvious today that america has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." but we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
so we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
we have also come to this hallowed spot to remind america of the fierce urgency of now. this is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of gods children. now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. this sweltering summer of the negros legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquility in america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights. the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
but there is something that i must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
we cannot walk alone.and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. we cannot turn back. there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. we cannot be satisfied as long as the negros basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. we can never be satisfied as long as a negro in mississippi cannot vote and a negro in new york believes he has nothing for which to vote. no, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Make Every Moment Count
One night, I complained to my mom about the lack of time. Finally she said,"you are short of time just because you waste precious minutes on complaints and anxiety. The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit in some thing more."
It is the same with filling the jar. Even if you place a dozen fist-sized rocks and a bucket of gravel into the jar, there is still space for sand and water between the rocks and gravel.
The lack of time is just the excuse for my negligence of every single minute. I believe that the great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in six words,"I did not have enough time."The fact is I do have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. The point is I have never touched upon the real meaning of life which lies in snatching, seizing and enjoying every minute of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination, no complaint! It is during my moments of complaining or hesitation that my destiny is shaped. Once I make full use of every moment, I believe that, my worries will be gradually cut down to nothing.
Time is the most valuable of all our possessions, but the most perishable as well. As Henry David Thoreau said,"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."
Whenever I fell the lack of time in the future, I will tell myself "Carpe diem , seize the day, make every moment count."
Good afternoon, my dear friends.
I am very happy to meet you here.It is my great honor to communicate with you at such a special occation.First of all,please allow me to express my appreciation to you all to listion to me.
I am proud of being a college student.The collegelife is fresh,new teachers, new classmates and new friends. I like the friendship, and their wide knowledge and opening mind. The grand library, school buildings and wide playground attrattde me very much.My college life is better than I expected, I can do anything I like. In the college we can not only learn the professional knowledge,but also develop our comprehensive abilities.If we can make full use of the period,we can learn many useful things.Besides,we should have the active attitude to our life,do a contributionto the
society.Collegelife is the most precious time in our life.Most of us want to become an outstanding man. But there are some students still waste their time. They get together for eating, drinking or playing cards. Theyre busy in searching for a girlfriend or a boyfriend. They completely forget their task as college students.
Finally, I hope everybody can try their best to become a worthy person to our country, and make great contributions to the society!