[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMPASSION AND DEMOCRACY GO HAND IN HAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 4 minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Madam Speaker, the world lost two well-known, highly 
respected and dearly loved women in the last week, Mother Teresa and 
Princess Diana.
  Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, early in her life, committed herself to 
an order of the nunnery and that would have been sufficient in itself, 
because she had a high calling, and it was indeed commendable and 
honorable that she did that, but that is not the reason she was dearly 
loved.
  Princess Diana was both titled and wealthy and had style. Again, 
those attributes and privileges were advantages for her, but again, 
that is not the reason there was such deep love and emotion for her. In 
both of their lives, I think we learned that the attribute of 
compassion was the quality that people endeared from them, or were 
endeared to them because of.
  It was their compassion, their ability to reach out, their ability to 
be concerned, their ability to embrace others, to reach out beyond 
their own points of comfort. It was their ability to support and 
embrace the poor, their ability to support and embrace the lepers, to 
care enough for the aged or to hug a person with AIDS, their ability to 
welcome the unwanted, their ability, or certainly Mother Teresa's 
ability, to comfort the dying.
  So as we give tribute to their lives, we have an opportunity, as 
legislators, to reflect to what extent do we reach out beyond our 
ability of comfort?
  We are having the opportunity to appropriate resources. Do we 
appropriate resources that also will benefit the poor, the hungry; or 
have we, as legislators, in the recent years found it very fashionable 
to have the poor as a political football, to make them scapegoats for 
our frustration? Has it become very fashionable in this land of 
immigrants to now have a harsh reality, a harsh attitude? And the 
reality of that is to find ways to not extend the full service and 
benefit of our country.
  In this country where we say equality and access and fairness are 
landmarks of our democracy, it has become fashionable to say that 
affirmative action is no longer the byword, fair play is only for a few 
and privileged.
  I think we have an opportunity to reflect, as we reflect on their 
lives, what makes this country great. This is a great democracy. It is 
great beyond its great defenses. That makes us strong. It is certainly 
great beyond our technology and our great wealth. That makes us 
competitive and the envy of the world. What makes this democracy great 
is its compassion, its ability to open its arms to all of the people.
  As we continue our legislative responsibility, I think we have the 
opportunity and the privilege, and I hope also the desire and the need 
to make sure the appropriations and the promulgation of policies and 
laws we make also reach to those who are unfortunate, the poor, the 
hungry, the unwanted.
  There are two bills that I would commend to my colleagues to 
consider. One is Hunger Has a Cure. It simply is a bill now that has 
more than 100 cosponsors, and I encourage all my colleagues to consider 
it. It simply says that we care enough about those without food to make 
sure we provide it.
  The second one is to make sure we have equal opportunity for 
minorities to have access to agriculture resources to end the 
discrimination that has been documented.
  My bill simply says, it is agriculture, equity, and accountability.
  I commend both of those bills in the spirit of compassion, fairness 
of opportunity, what makes this country great in the life of Mother 
Teresa and the life also of Princess Diana. It is an opportunity to 
remember our caring about people and our compassion.

                          ____________________