"What the caterpillar calls the end of life, wise men call a butterfly."

By KEN HECHLER

Published: July 29, 2004

My fellow Americans, we cannot escape history.

The founding fathers of our country envisioned a new nation, which in Lincoln's words was "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.''

From Lexington and Concord to the final victory at Yorktown, courageous patriots paved the way for the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights - the very bedrock of this great nation of ours.

Tonight I pledge to you my unshakable dedication to these two principles of Thomas Jefferson's: Equal rights for all; special privileges for none.

I will also seek equal and exact justice for all human beings. And in the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I deeply believe that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

The Kerry-Edwards administration pledges its total support of the statement by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

This generation of Americans must have the vision and foresight to protect the rights of generations yet unborn. We must not squander our resources today, and force future generations to pay the bill for recklessly created debts.

We believe in a decent respect for the opinion of all nations in this world. We must unite wholeheartedly in a joint effort with all nations to eliminate terrorism and exert leadership to bring peace and justice to all mankind.

Finally, I am unalterably committed to a "government of the people, by the people and for the people."

Where there is no vision, the people perish. I have a vision for a strong America, and with your help we will win the victory in November.

Ken Hechler, a special assistant to President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, represented West Virginia for nine terms in the House of Representatives. He is the Democratic nominee for secretary of state in West Virginia.