Transcript: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Speech At July 4th Naturalization Ceremony

Read the full transcript of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s keynote address at a July 4th Naturalization Ceremony.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Thank you very much for this wonderful introduction, that’s exactly the way I wrote it. But anyway, I just had, first of all, good morning and happy 4th of July. I just had the great pleasure of laying a wreath at George Washington’s tomb. And I have to tell you something, that I was really touched by this whole idea. Because when I came to this country 57 years ago, not in my wildest dreams, and I had wild dreams, of becoming the most muscular man in the world, becoming a movie star, making a lot of money, becoming rich and famous and all that kind of stuff. But not exactly, that’s why I said most muscular man. You got to learn how to listen. Remember, God gave you two ears and only one mouth.

But in any case, what I’m saying is, I was thinking to myself, 57 years ago when I came to this country, not in my wildest dreams, did I think about that one day this immigrant will be asked to lay a wreath at George Washington’s tomb. And to be asked to give the keynote speech at this spectacular event here today. And I feel absolutely delighted to be here. Thank you.

A Touch of Humor at Mount Vernon

And of course after being here at Mount Vernon, I’ve decided that in my next movie I’m going to play George Washington. And Danny DeVito will play Jefferson. Oh no, maybe I actually have a better idea. Maybe Mrs. Washington. How about that, huh? Wouldn’t that be cool? I’m actually talking about making movies. I just finished a movie called The Man with the Bag. It’s a Christmas movie where I play Santa Claus.

And Santa Claus is of course all about giving. But today however, you’ve given me a great gift. And that gift is to be part of this very meaningful ceremony.

You know I was told that there are thousands of spectators out there. And I have to say you’re a really good looking crowd. Man, look at them all. Smiling and everything. Well, I’m very excited that you’re here and I want to thank you all for coming. Big, big hand to all of you. But actually I came to talk to this 100 people that are sitting right here in front. To this 100 people that have just become American citizens. To these new Americans, I say thank you for sharing this wonderful day with me. And also your journey, which we all know you’ve had.

A Different Kind of Opening Story

If a U.S. ambassador or historian were here in my place this morning, he or she would probably start out with some relevant quote by Washington, right? It would be about democracy and citizenship and probably make reference to the tensions in our country. But I want to start differently. We just have to get to know each other. But I want to start differently with a story. Dr. Bradburn can vouch that this is true. Washington and John Marshall, who later became Chief Justice, were once riding on horseback to visit some friends. And in a way, Marshall ripped his pants. But he had no choice but to keep going on. The rip must have been in a strategic area, if you know what I mean. Because when they arrived, the only thing that Marshall could think of doing was to hold a handkerchief in front of him like a bullfighter. I should never have said this. He was like this. Well, on seeing this, Washington laughed so hard that it took time for him to recover.

Now today, we call upon the joyous, happy Washington. Because this is a very joyous, happy day. We are here to celebrate. To celebrate you. You, the Georgettes sworn in. We are here to recognize what you have overcome. What you have achieved. To recognize the responsibilities that are still in front of you.

My Own Citizenship Journey

I remember how happy I was when I became an American citizen. I tell you, it felt so great. It was September 17, 1983. I was all dressed up, just like today. With the blue blazer, white shirt, and red tie. And I raised my right hand. Stood straight, and I proudly said the oath. And after that, I celebrated. I celebrated at lunchtime. I celebrated at dinnertime. I celebrated all night. And I had the American flag draped around my shoulders. I couldn’t believe it. I kept saying to myself, Arnold, you have a new home. And I did. And so do you. And so do you.

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I have no doubt that similar lunches and dinners and parties would take place here today. Because there’s so much to celebrate. You have endured the stress of filling out the forms and the paperwork. You’ve waited, and you’ve worried. You’ve wondered. What is taking so long? Right? Did the paperwork get lost? Did it get lost in the mail? Did it go through? What is happening here? I know those feelings. I know the relief that you must feel today.

Some of you have escaped from very harsh circumstances in your previous life. I’ve always loved what Harriet Tubman said about escaping from slavery into freedom. She said, “When I found that I’d crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything. The sun came like gold through trees and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.” Today, at least for a few hours, I hope that you feel a glory over everything. I hope that you feel that glory over everything. Thank you.

Immigrants Are Action Heroes

Now, I know that each of you has your own reason for wanting to be an American citizen. Some of you came to America to escape fear of persecution and political oppression, that gnawing fear that tells you not to look at the soldier in the eye. Others of you came to America because of economic desperation in your home country, that gnawing in your stomach that comes from unrelenting poverty or famine. Or maybe what drew you here was the longing to be reunited with your family, that gnawing in your heart for the people that you love, that you miss, and that you want to care for and protect.

But whatever motivated you to make your way here to say, I want to be a citizen of the United States, let me explain what it tells me about you. Because of all the roles that I have played in my movies, I know something about action heroes. Right? You don’t need a cartridge belt across your chest or a bazooka against your shoulder to be an action hero. And you don’t need the stunts and the special effects and the Hollywood magic to be an action hero. No. Immigrants are action heroes.

I’ll tell you why I say that, because it took action to get here. Laziness did not get you here. Apathy did not get you here. And belief in a status quo did not get you here. No. Action is what got you here. You wanted something more, so you went after it. You worked hard, you struggled, and you persevered. I know what you say to yourself, because this is what I say to myself. If only I can get to America. If only I can prove what I can do. If only I can be the person that I know I can be. Right? Today, all of your actions over the years were rewarded. No longer are you hanging on that cliff by one hand. You have pulled yourself up. Yes, you have pulled yourself up. And the day you will feed, the day your feet are firmly planted in America. Isn’t it wonderful?

What Will You Do for America?

So, what now? What now? In return for all that America is doing for you, in giving you your freedom, peace, and opportunity, I ask you to think about what would you do for America? What would you do for America? When you took that oath, you were not putting your hand out for what you could get. No. You put your hand up in a promise of what you would do for America. Yes! When you took that oath and received America’s many blessings, I hope that you also accepted the responsibility to give something back.

Giving back does not just mean to give money. It means giving yourself to something beyond yourself. I remember that I first arrived in America a week before Thanksgiving. And a guy in the gym reached out to me and he said, “You’re here by yourself. You’re a foreigner. I barely can understand you. I can’t blame you for that.” He said, “Why don’t you spend Thanksgiving with us, with my family?” His name was Bill Drake. And I met his father and his mother, and it was the most wonderful turkey dinner with orange drimmings. And that was not enough generosity.

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That same weekend after that fantastic meal, there was a knock on my door of my empty apartment across the street from the gym. I opened it, and a parade of bodybuilders walked in. All pumped up. One after the other, carrying things in their hands. One was carrying bed sheets. The other one pillowcases. The other one utensils. One was even carrying in a black and white TV. I was, I tell you, still impressed. It was a parade of generosity turning my bare immigrant apartment into a home.

That is a generosity that I will never forget. I will never forget that. That kindness left a lasting impression on me. And for the last 30 years now, I have been buying and handing out turkeys at a youth center in East Los Angeles. And I tell you something, that handing out those thousands of turkeys year after year is 100 times more rewarding than standing at the red carpet of a movie premiere.

Giving Back to America

I have tried to be a good citizen and to give back. That’s why I got involved in Special Olympics, became the national and international strength coach for the Special Olympians worldwide, to promote Special Olympics worldwide. That’s why I was so honored also to be asked by President Bush to be the chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and travel through all 50 states and go into public schools and to promote exercising and fitness amongst the youngsters and to tell them no to drugs, no to gang and no to violence.

I helped our veterans getting homes. Helped the homeless. I’m involved in combating climate change and promoting healthy living, advocating civil responsibility. I started after school programs and the list goes on and on and on.

Now one thing I have to tell you, you don’t have to run for governor as I did. Start by running to the grocery store for a homebound neighbor or run the bake sale table at the PTA meeting. The question is what will you become involved in? I guarantee you that it will begin to change your life.

You Don’t Have to Give Up Who You Are

Now here’s another thing that I’ve learned. You do not have to give up who you are in order to succeed as an American. When I wanted to get into the movies, I remember agents and the studio executives would say to me, “It is out. That accent. That ridiculous accent. No one has ever become a movie star or leading man with an accent like that and then your name Schwartzen… Schwartzen… Schnitzel or whatever if it wouldn’t even fit on a movie poster or on a billboard why don’t you forget the movies altogether why don’t you open up a health food store or a gymnasium.”

I was convinced that I could do it. I was in the lane of opportunities. I knew that if I work my butt off that I could do it. I could make my vision become a reality. So I took acting classes, English classes, speech classes, dialogue classes. I even took accent removal classes. I walked around the whole day saying “a fine wine grows on a vine” and “three thousand three hundred and thirty three and one third” because those are all the things the German-speaking people are difficult at pronouncing.

So I worked on it and worked on it and this is why today I have absolutely no accent at all. You’re laughing but I mean it’s not funny. I’m still looking for the coach to get my money back. But anyway the bottom line is that an accent is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a memory of your past. It is telling a story. It tells a story and it’s part of what makes your voice distinct. America needs your story.

What I’m saying is that to be an American you do not have to fit into a box. Trust who you are. Trust your vision of your future and trust your vision of yourself. That is what is important.

America Always Pulls Through

Now some will say “Arnold you are a little bit out of touch here with what is going on in this country your outlook is too rosy.” Yes I’m an optimist. I admit it. But I know what’s going on. I know about the division that separates us. It is true what we see in everything that we see in the news. Things might look confusing and yes there is heartache but let me tell you something. No matter how difficult of a time we go through sometimes in America we always pull out of it. We always pull out of it.

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And I tell you why I’m saying that because when I came to America I remember the confusion and the heartache when I arrived in this country in 1968. Imagine now the year that I came Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Think about that. There were riots in the streets outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago. There were protests about the Vietnam War all over this country. It was craziness. The Vietnam War was tearing this country apart. C-141 cargo planes holding 35 to 40 flag draped caskets to a flight were coming from Southeast Asia. Imagine how many flights, how many flags that it took for 58,000 American soldiers to be returned back home. Think about that.

And we pulled out of that difficult time and we came back bigger and stronger than ever. So that’s why I’m an optimist. We’re going to always come back and we always going to move forward. That is the important thing.

America Needs Your Immigrant Spirit

The reason I’m mentioning this is because I read that some Americans are actually so discouraged today that they want to move to another country. They don’t know what you and I know right? I mean you and I spent years working to become citizens. We are not people who give up easily. No? America needs your strong immigrant spirit right now.

There was a number recently a number of environmentalists who have told me that they were losing hope about climate change and fossil fuels and the reduction in pollution and all this stuff because of various US policies and reversals. You know what I said to this kind of defeatist attitude? Stop whining and get to work.

The thing that I know about immigrants is that you are not whiners because whining doesn’t get you the green card of the citizenship. Whining doesn’t put food on your table or pay the rent. Whining is weakness. Whining is weakness. There is a reason that you’re here. You are the people that America needs right now. America needs you with your accent, with your memories of your homeland, the hope and dreams that you have and your love and freedom for family. You do not just deserve to be in America. You are needed here. You are needed here.

Welcome to America

Let me close with this thought. Ronald Reagan once received a letter from a man who wrote that you can go to live in France but you can’t become a Frenchman. You can go to Germany or to Italy but you can’t become a German or Italian. The man said the same thing about Turkey and Japan and many other countries but he says that anyone from any corner in the world can come to live in the United States and become an American.

You are from many different places from all over the world and today together you become one. You became an American. Yes, today you became an American. I’m so happy that you’re here. I’m so happy you’re here. Thank you that you took this road to America together with me and on behalf of all the citizens of this country I congratulate you on becoming an American and I welcome you to this land of opportunity, to the greatest country in the world. God bless all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you.