[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  AMERICA IN DANGER OF LOSING ITS SOUL

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, there is good economic news in America. 
Yesterday, the stock market hit another record high; unemployment is at 
a 20-year low; farm income is up. In fact, the average American income 
is up. America's pocketbook is full. But our hearts are empty, and 
there is a crisis of the soul.
  We have all known about the downward spiral of our society. Child 
abuse has increased, spouse abuse is up, abortion is ubiquitous for 
reasons that simply do not make sense. We are now seeing the first 
signs of turning on our elderly because they have become an 
inconvenience. Tensions in our community indicate there is a need for 
racial reconciliation.
  God's Word says that what good is it if a man gains the whole world 
and yet

[[Page H1302]]

loses his own soul? Mr. Speaker, America is in danger of losing its own 
soul, losing those values that built a great Nation: faith in God, hard 
work, integrity, a common sense of decency, and respect for men and 
women regardless of race or religion.
  Mr. Speaker, I challenge those of us here in Washington to return to 
the values that built a great Nation, lest we fall from our greatness.

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