Highlights from Remarks of
Commerce Secretary Don Evans
Houston World Affairs Council

• The President has the highest possible confidence in, and gratitude for, every man and woman taking risks to preserve, protect, and expand the reach of freedom. He thinks about them and prays for them all of the time. This much we know, no country has ever been better served by its armed forces than the United States—they’re showing the world the definition of honor.
• I know that you all, rightfully, have been pleased to see, during the moment of crisis, a Texan standing tall for freedom. On the basis of our history and the lessons we’ve never forgotten, we can say, Texas is special. We’re all proud that our Republic, and the hard work of many people in this room, sent a man to the White House who, when our national security is threatened, is strong enough to take a stand for freedom.
• Houston has always been a magnet that’s attracted visionaries and dreamers and builders. Houstonians have always been a class of people who’ve been willing to roll up their sleeves. And they’ve always been willing to go first. Our Grandfathers recognized that, to become a great city, Houston had to embrace a vision that was forward looking, diverse, and centered upon commerce with other parts of the world.
• Houston has also been blessed by a special understanding of the concept of service. Houstonians have always been about far more than the simple pursuit of attainment for its own sake. Jesse Jones had it exactly right when he said: “Success is measured by the service you render and the character of citizen you make rather than the amount of money you amass.”
• In the life of our city, no one captured the spirit of true service better than Jesse Jones. And I’m grateful to his legacy and to Houston for ingraining in me a set of defining principles that shaped my life, in business, in the value I place on family and friends, in the importance of charity, in the proper role of faith in our lives, and finally, in my understanding of public service as a stewardship of trust.
• Jesse Jones proved to be the indispensable man because he understood that leadership meant uniting people around an objective that was worthy of their best efforts. By the strength of its powerful example, his life meant a lot to Houston and it means a lot to me. He harnessed his ingenuity, tenacity, and leadership to serve compassionate ends.
• As Secretary of Commerce, my mission is to unleash a rising tide of economic expansion that will lift every American to greater opportunity. My passion is spreading the essential components of freedom that can change the lives of the multitudes that today fight a daily struggle simply to survive.
• There are many ways we can defend freedom and create a more peaceful, prosperous world. Our troops fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere provide one shining example. Others of us can lead the way on the economic front. It follows that we share a clear stake in bringing about the dramatically more stable and peaceful world that would arise under widespread conditions of economic development. Businesses have to set that example.
• Friends, defending freedom is a far broader mission than the exercise of military might. It’s a cause that compels a comprehensive effort from our entire society.
• The expansion of global trade is one of our most effective tools to introduce the building blocks of freedom into struggling societies. At its most basic level, trade is about human freedom—the freedom to innovate, to exchange goods and services, and to interact without interference from the state.
• Trading partners are less inclined to make war against one another. Countries sharing ties of commerce and friendship between their leading citizens are far more likely to resolve serious disagreements early before disputes become hopelessly contentious. By expanding trade and democratic capitalism, we will spread the climate of economic opportunity that can undermine the vicious appeals of terrorist organizations.
• We are all witnesses spreading the blessings of freedom to the developing world. Our mission is to convey the power of democratic capitalism to change lives and to build societies of meaning. As your Secretary of Commerce, my message to the business community is this: As Americans, as Texans, and as Houstonians, I expect all of you to be the hardest working evangelists for freedom. The dangers we face are grave but this generation of Americans is rapidly proving that it was cut from the same bolt of cloth that already produced so many proud generations of dreamers, doers, and defenders of freedom.