James Baker served as Secretary of State under George H. Bush. (AP)

The John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies awarded former Secretary of State James Baker its annual Medal of Honor “for his extensive service to his country, resiliency in the face of adversity, grace and dignity as a statesman and continuous pursuit of peace and democracy throughout the world.”

Several members of the SMU community, including President R. Gerald Turner and Dedman College Dean William Tsutsui, helped introduce and award Baker the distinction. Following his acceptance of the award, the retired Republican from Houston spoke about U.S. foreign and domestic policy and his own beginnings in politics.

“You may remember those early days in the Texas Republican Party, when it was almost a hanging offense to be a Republican in Texas,” Baker quipped about his early days. Baker attributed John Tower, not the Bush family, with turning Texas into “the reddest of red states.”

After acknowledging Tower’s contribution to Texas politics, the 82-year-old noted that he had been alive for a third of the United States’ history. He began to expunge his views about both domestic affairs shortly after.

“There has been a lot of speculation nowadays about America’s decline. I would submit to you that these kinds of worries are not novel,” Baker said. “Nonetheless, the declinist talk is growing louder, and I suppose it’s not too hard to understand why.”

“The terrible attacks of 9/11 set the tone, and since then we have endured a financial collapse, a protracted recession, a fiscal crisis that threatens the very credit worthiness of the U.S. government and perhaps most importantly, a polarized politics that makes it ever more difficult to govern.”

Baker suggested that among other reforms to government, the value of compromise should not be understated, especially in a world with 24-hour news networks that thrive on controversy.

“Compromise [to the media] is now a dirty word,” he said.

In addition to the value of compromise, Baker listed immigration, illegal or otherwise, as an asset.

“Our population is growing due to immigration, while other work forces [in the global economy] are ageing,” Baker said. “The finest minds in the world flock to our universities. We are a creative people in a global economy. Innovation is the key to success, and we do it best.”

In order to maintain its place as the best in the world, Baker said that Americans would have to avoid strategic and financial overreach, as they are a “recipe for disaster.”
“The economy is the source of all our power,” he said. “The [national] debt is a ticking time bomb.”

China was another big issue Baker tackled in his speech. He suggested that, although the Chinese are making rapid gains in many areas, it is not a cause for significant alarm.

“China diminishes in power upon closer inspection,” Baker said. “Militarily China lags behind us. We have 11 aircraft carriers to their one that is a refurbished Soviet carrier from the 1980’s. China lags [behind].”

Baker concluded on a high note by discussing the promise of the strength in American character.

“When all is said and done, much of our success in this country comes right down to character. It always has,” Baker said. “We’re a resilient people, we’re a pragmatic people, we’re an optimistic people, and we’re a people of integrity. Most importantly, we are a people of faith. We Americans not only face challenges, we welcome them.And so ladies and gentlemen, I am absolutely convinced that as long as we stay true to our national character, our future will be every bit as bright as our past.”