[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H9209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MORALITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you at a time when the Nation 
is concerned about society's morality or lack of morality. The leaders 
and public figures our children look to for guidance and inspiration 
fail them too many times. What will the future hold for tomorrow's 
leaders? How can we as a Congress and as a community of Americans make 
sure that our children learn the fundamental values of respect, honesty 
and integrity?
  A supportive and loving family and a strong faith in God are the 
single most important tools we have to teach our children values. 
Together they have the greatest positive impact on today's youth. But 
any time and anywhere these values can be encouraged and fostered in 
the minds of our youth, we all stand to benefit.
  I came to the House floor last month to congratulate the Greenville, 
North Carolina All Star Little League team from my district. They 
placed second in the country and third in the world in this year's 
Little League World Series.
  These young men know the importance of hard work, dedication and 
teamwork. And they followed the Little League pledge, and I quote: I 
trust God, I love my country and I respect its laws. I will play fair 
and strive to win, but win or lose, I will always do my best.
  These are the messages that our children should know and understand. 
Trust in God, respect the laws of our land, play fair, always do your 
best. For men and women of any age these are encouraging and motivating 
words.
  Our society is fortunate to have a number of other programs, 
organizations and clubs that together with a strong and supportive 
family foster the importance of values and leadership in today's 
children. These programs have been helping our children for years learn 
the value of honor, integrity and character. They have helped me, and 
they continue to help many of our Nation's children today.
  The Boy Scouts of America is one of the Nation's largest 
organizations with more than 5 million youth and adult members. Boy 
Scouts provides educational programs to build character, train in the 
responsibilities of active citizenship, and develop personal fitness. 
Not only do the Boy Scouts strive to promote physical strength, but it 
promotes strength of character and leadership as well.
  In addition, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America is the 
largest voluntary organization for girls and provides programs to build 
self-confidence and develop decisionmaking and leadership skills. The 
Girl Scout promise encourages girls to respect themselves and 
authority, to be responsible for their actions and work to make the 
world a better place.
  Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are two well-known community organizations 
that build confidence and community participation, but there are other 
organizations that promote these same values through more 
individualized interests.
  For example, the 4-H was established to help young students learn 
more about agriculture through nature. The 4-H has grown to become a 
popular organization for children in rural and farming communities like 
those in my district of eastern North Carolina and across the Nation.
  The four Hs stand for head, heart, hands and health and indicate its 
members' dedication to community and service. The 4-H members across 
this country say, I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to 
greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better 
living, for my club, my community, my country and my world.
  These organizations and the many I do not have time to mention, 
whether they are sports clubs, special interest or leadership training 
organizations, they all teach our children the importance of unity, 
trust and responsibility. Promoting the values of community, character 
and honesty, each works to lead our children by example. Unfortunately, 
we cannot always choose our children's role models for them. But we can 
be thankful for the strong leaders within our own communities who give 
of themselves for our children who are America's future.
  To the moms, the dads, the scout leaders, Little League coaches and 
everyone who shows our children that character and integrity do matter, 
thank you very much. Together we can build the leaders of tomorrow, 
leaders we can all be proud of.

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