President's Address 2007 - The Past is Prologue: “MR,” Go Gentle Into That Good Night

摘要

The title of this paper requires apologies to twornwell-known authors: William Shakespeare and DylanrnThomas. The first phrase, ‘‘The Past is Prologue’’rnis from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.rnI confess I first learned this phrase at the NationalrnArchives building in Washington, DC. It is carvedrnin stone over the grand entrance to the buildingrnthat holds our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and thernletters of Benedict Arnold in its vast archives,rnwhich remind us that everything that has happenedrnto us as a nation thus far (good and bad) has occurredrnto prepare us for that which follows. I feelrnthat this is also the case for our Association today.rnWe have a long, strong, and impressive past. All ofrnour past (even the less glorious moments) hasrnserved as prologue.