Congratulations, graduates. It's been a long road for everyone here... yourselves, your teachers, your parents... and you've reached a milestone in your lives. This isn't the first nor the last, but one of many that everyone here with you today is quite proud.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank the students of Holmen High School for their time spent with me over the past few years. I'll speak more on this later. The fact so many of you wanted to hear me speak today touches me in ways I may never comprehend.

One reason a number of you voted for me to speak today is that you would like one final lesson of me... something profound, something that rings true, something controversial. I'll try not to disappoint.

If you listen to a lot of people these days, people on TV, people in the newspapers, people in your church, perhaps even some people in your home, my topic may seem to go against the grain of what they truly believe. But, I'm about to share with you the one thing that makes this country the greatest place to live on the planet. Are you ready? The one thing that defines this country and defines who you are is this...