Let me start by saying that it’s always great to be back in Dallas. I feel like this is my second home. It’s hard to overstate how important this city, and really all of North Texas, is to me, both personally and professionally. This is the only metropolitan area with three UT System institutions, all of them crown jewels in their own right – UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Arlington, and of course UT Dallas. And I married a Dallas girl, so the city has always had a special place in my heart. 

Whenever I’m here, I am reminded of my father, who lived and died with the Dallas Cowboys. Every Sunday in the fall, Dad and I would cheer on Don Meredith, “Bullet” Bob Hayes, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and of course, Roger Staubach. Dad himself was an NFL player-turned fighter pilot, part of the Greatest Generation that won World War II. He was my hero.

Heroes are what I want to talk about today. Men and women with courage – physical courage, moral courage, intellectual courage and emotional courage.

Let me start with Sam Dealey, born right here in Dallas. He was from a prominent family, and young Sam’s connections landed him an appointment to the Naval Academy. Unfortunately, on his first try, he dropped out because of poor grades. Eventually though, he was reinstated and graduated from the Academy in 1930. From there he went to submarine school and seemed headed for an undistinguished Naval career when World War II broke out.

Dealey was assigned as the commanding officer of an attack submarine in the Pacific. Now, even today life on a submarine is no picnic. But today’s subs are the Ritz Carlton compared 70 years ago. The sub Dealey commanded was a diesel boat--cramped and hot, with so little water the men showered once every ten days. You can imagine what that was like. Worse, it was one of the most terrifying and dangerous jobs in the war, with one of every five U.S. submarines lost in combat. 

Dealey’s stint as commander didn’t begin well – he ran his sub into the bottom of the ocean. But, he was able to back himself out of the mud and keep going. And from there, he embarked on one of the most successful submariner careers in U.S. history. Sam Dealey and his crew sank a remarkable 18 enemy ships before their submarine, the USS Harder, was destroyed. For his courage and leadership as a commander, Samuel Dealey of Dallas earned a Silver Star, a Navy Cross and, posthumously, the Medal of Honor.

Let me say that again, a Silver Star – hard enough in it’s own right to earn. The Navy Cross, the second highest award for gallantry. And the Medal of Honor, the highest award in the nation, for heroism above and beyond the call of duty. Sam Dealey was a hero. 

Fast forward a quarter century. Young Robert Law didn’t come from a prominent family. To this day, nobody knows much about him. We know he grew up in Fort Worth and was inducted into the Army right here in Dallas. We know he became an Army Ranger, and we know that during a firefight in the Vietnam, Robert Law of North Texas jumped on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers. For his courage and selflessness, and like Samuel Dealey before him, Robert Law received a posthumous Medal of Honor. Robert Law was a hero.

During my 37 years in the military, I had a front row seat to countless acts of courage. I met a lot of heroes. But having returned home to Texas after traveling the world for 37 years, I have come to appreciate that American courage is not confined to the military. Far from it.

I was here in Dallas the morning after that fateful night last July when four Dallas Police Department and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit were killed. As always happens, when shots rang out, police and other first responders ran toward the danger, putting themselves in harm’s way. This courageous response, in all likelihood, cost some officers their lives, and potentially saved the lives of innocent citizens. They were all heroes.

Now let me tell you why I wanted to talk about courage and heroism today. But first, a confession. I didn’t know much about the Salesmanship Club, and I didn’t know anything about the Momentous Institute, until recently, when I visited its website. There I saw a video, which I’m sure most of you have seen. The video features a family who came to the Institute looking for help, and who, thanks to the brilliant and dedicated people here, now have their lives on track.

Watching the video, one of the things that struck me was the courage of the mother, father and son. The courage it took for them to recognize they needed help, and to take the steps necessary to get that help. I have seen our veterans struggle to find the courage to ask for help. It’s not easy.

I want to thank everyone at the Institute for honoring the courage of all the families who come to you. The stakes couldn’t be higher – for these families and really, for our country. Our economy, our quality of life, even our national security depends on helping these kids, and their families, overcome the obstacles in their path. And I am, frankly, blown away by the percentage of kids who – having passed through the Momentous Institute or Momentous School – have gone on to earn college degrees. To me, it is one more example of what courage makes possible.

So I want to thank and congratulate the Salesmanship Club for supporting this incredibly important work, and for affirming my belief that courage abounds here in Dallas, throughout Texas, and across this great country.

It might surprise folks, but as Chancellor I have a front row seat to courage in action – everyday. I see first-generation college students, at UT Dallas, UT Arlington and all eight of our academic institutions, taking on challenge after challenge. Their courage flows from the knowledge that they are changing the trajectory, not just of their own lives, but of their children and grandchildren’s lives as well.

I watch the courage of students, faculty and researchers at UT Southwestern and all of our health institutions who show up, day after day, to fight the toughest, deadliest foes. Cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, you name it. All over the state, there are brilliant people, who could be doing just about anything, and making a handsome living doing it. But what they have signed up for is year after year of quiet and dogged work, year after year of mostly heartbreak and disappointment, in the hope that in the end, perhaps long after they’ve retired, their work will contribute to the breakthrough that saves millions of lives.

This is what heroes do.

Everywhere I look, I see heroic Texans – and of course that was never truer than in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, when thousands upon thousands of them rushed to the aid of friends, neighbors and strangers in their hour of need.

I believe that at this moment in our nation’s history, courage and heroism, in all its forms, is more important today than ever before. Obviously, we will always depend on the physical courage of our military, police, and first responders. But as a nation, we also need moral courage just as much, if not more.

The character of the country we leave to our kids and grandkids is going to be defined, I believe, by our ability and our willingness to make morally courageous decisions. To do what we know is right, whatever the consequences to ourselves. There is an old quote I like from Captain Rip Ford of the Texas Rangers – the lawmen, not the baseball team. He said the Rangers “knew their duty and they did it. The made no braggadocio demonstration. They had a specie of moral discipline which developed moral courage.” And then my favorite part of that line, “They did right because it was right.”

“They did right because it was right.” That quote should be seared into the heart of every lawmaker and every citizen of this great nation.

In addition to moral and physical courage, to build the future we want for our country we’re going to need intellectual courage. We must be willing to accept facts as facts. But, we must also be brave enough in our convictions to give a fair hearing to ideas, beliefs and points of view with which we disagree.

From a higher education perspective, when I think about the values we try to instill in our young people, I think about what I call the three Ds – Discovery, Debate and Dissent. Starting with Discovery, I want our students, faculty, and researchers to think critically, ask tough questions, shine light in the dark corners, and challenge authority, conventional wisdom, each other, and themselves. 

Of course, the more you do that, the more disagreements you’re going to have. That brings me to the lost art of Debate. More than ever, our students and every American needs to learn how to argue their positions in a reasonable, well thought out, persuasive, and civil manner. 

Finally, as a nation we should all brush up on how to act when our arguments don’t carry the day. Leading me to the third D – Dissent. Respectful, lawful dissent is part of our DNA as Americans. Smart leaders know it doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong. Great ideas aren’t born from consensus. More often than not, dissent is the first step down the path to innovations, breakthroughs, and solutions. 

An intellectually courageous person is curious, well-informed, principled, and able to argue and stand by his or her convictions. But they are also smart enough to be humble. To know they can learn mightily from the perspectives of others.

The final, and perhaps most important element of courage is emotional courage. Bringing me full circle to this wonderful Institute. The courage it takes for a child, a mother, or a father to step outside their comfort zones, to overcome fear, anxiety and distress for themselves, for their family, for their future. The work being done right here – so generously supported by all of you – is awakening courage that would have otherwise lain dormant. Courage that I hope, and believe, will equip the folks passing through these doors to tackle the inevitable challenges in their lives with optimism, grit, moxie and grace.

I know it’s easy to feel like we’re living through troubled times in this country. And I suppose we are. But pick any moment in our 240-year history and you’ll find plenty of troubles. I’m not blind to the problems and challenges that beset us. There are days when I’m downright pessimistic.

But neither am I blind to all the great men and women, from all walks of life, who are standing up, speaking out, taking action, and helping make things better for the people in their communities. The courage of everyday Americans has always moved us forward, and I know it will continue to do so.

I know, because I see it, from one end of this great state to the other, all over the country, and right here in this room. For that, and for the opportunity to be with you today, I am profoundly grateful.

Thank you very much.