[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E4-E5]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 VALUES

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 3, 1996

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report of Wednesday, December 27, 1995, into the Congressional Record.

                                 Values

       ``Peace on earth, good will toward men''--it is a blessing 
     echoed often at this time of year. While we have many reasons 
     to be grateful that we live in the U.S., it is also true that 
     Americans daily face many disturbing realities--crime, drug 
     abuse, illegitimacy--which strike right at the heart of a 
     decent life. A few years ago ``It's the economy, stupid'' 
     conveyed the idea that the economy was paramount on voters' 
     minds; now people are more inclined to blame the nation's 
     problems on the moral decline. Today social issues like 
     crime, welfare, education, and racial preference, and 
     cultural issues like abortion, gay rights, school prayer, 
     flag burning, and television violence have become prominent.
       Americans are struggling to restore old-fashioned values to 
     a central place in their lives and to revitalize the family. 
     Parents struggle to raise their children in the face of 
     powerful forces that are sending very different messages to 
     their children than they want to send. Again and again I have 
     been asked by distraught parents to watch a particular movie, 
     listen to a particular piece of music, or watch a television 
     show or video game that encourages casual sex or incessant 
     violence. One parent said to me the other day, ``What in the 
     world is going on?''
       What parents tell me they really want in life is a benign 
     environment for raising their children. They express deep 
     concern about the birth rate for unwed mothers and the 
     divorce rate, both of which have doubled in recent decades. 
     They are distressed that more children are being raised with 
     less supervision and fewer resources, putting them at much 
     greater risk for delinquency. Each day I encounter heroic 
     parents who have kept their family together against all the 
     odds.
       Concern for moral values has always been a part of American 
     life--from the battle against slavery to the battle against 
     excessive use of alcohol. Yet the debate over our society's 
     moral fiber has picked up recently as Americans increasingly 
     question why they face a host of social problems and how best 
     to deal with them. People are fearful that families and 
     values are disappearing, and they often feel hopeless and 
     powerless. I think the debate is worthwhile and healthy, and 
     indicates that we are on our way to addressing our social 
     ills. People ask me what they can do about declining values. 
     The answer begins with individual responsibility.
     
[[Page E5]]



                       individual responsibility

       ``The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil,'' said 
     the political leader and writer Edmund Burke, ``is for good 
     men to do nothing.'' Individual responsibility for our own 
     actions and instilling a sense of shared values play a 
     crucial part in solving our country's problems. We need to 
     look for common ground combining the great themes in American 
     values--personal responsibility, freedom, individualism, 
     respect, trustworthiness, fairness and caring. We must return 
     to the ideas of our Founding Fathers who spoke unashamedly of 
     virtue. They understood that without a virtuous people the 
     country does not function well, and that without virtue 
     individuals cannot realize either their own or the common 
     good.


                                families

       Central to our efforts to take back our streets, our 
     neighborhoods and our homes is strengthening the family. As 
     Barbara Bush said, ``Your success as a family--our success as 
     a society--depends not on what happens at the White House, 
     but on what happens inside your house.'' Like many Americans, 
     I believe that the breakdown in families is at the root of 
     many of our social ills. I am struck by how, in discussions 
     of wide-ranging public policy questions, we often come back 
     to strengthening the family as the best way to remedy the 
     ills. Questions dealing with values, morals, and character 
     should be addressed first in the family and then in society.


                             the community

       We need to develop and encourage community institutions 
     that reinforce and strengthen the traditional values. Many 
     familiar institutions work at this everyday--churches, scout 
     groups, service clubs, to name a few. People can contribute 
     in many ways--volunteering at a local Boys or Girls Club, 
     helping out with a church youth group, setting up afterschool 
     programs for ``latch-key'' kids, or supporting the character 
     education programs that have sprung up to help young people 
     think and talk about moral behavior and core values. In the 
     words of the African proverb, ``It takes a whole village to 
     raise a child.''


                             the government

       Public officials deal with improving values in a variety of 
     ways--from the White House conference on ways to teach 
     character, the Congress struggling to find ways to keep 
     pornography off the Internet, to public calls for teenage 
     curfews and school prayers. Many politicians push government 
     programs to strengthen values, including family and medical 
     leave, earned income tax credits for the working poor, income 
     tax credits for children, anti-crime efforts, and reforming 
     welfare by emphasizing work and responsibility.
       I believe that government can solve few of the core 
     cultural issues that bother most Americans, but it can play 
     an important secondary role. Congress can, for example, 
     support local anti-crime efforts or help states improve anti-
     drug programs, and we should make sure that in the current 
     budget-cutting climate important programs with proven results 
     are not gutted. Lawmakers must also be careful to look at how 
     broad legislation impacts on families, children, community, 
     and values--for example, making sure we assess whether a 
     certain tax policy would tend to strengthen families or 
     weaken them.


                               conclusion

       In talking with many foreign visitors, I find what grips 
     their imagination about America is not our affluence or 
     military power, or even our clogged freeways and high crime 
     rates. What really impresses them are the values upon which 
     our system is built. These values include not only liberty 
     and individual freedom but also individual responsibility and 
     a sense of community purpose. One visitor said to me the 
     other day that when we as a nation depart from these values, 
     we do so at our peril.
       I am encouraged by the increased discussion in our country 
     over character and values, and the consideration of what kind 
     of people we want to be. This country has a marvelous power 
     of self-correction, and my hope is that the process is now 
     underway. A collective effort on the part of individuals, 
     families, communities, and public officials can result in 
     tremendous change. We often think of steps we should take to 
     make America more prosperous. It is even more important to 
     think of ways to make America safe, moral, and just.

                          ____________________