[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 154 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2349-E2350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2349]]


                  RED RIBBON WEEK IN COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MAC COLLINS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 1998

  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, recently, I attended the ``kickoff event'' 
for Red Ribbon Week in Columbus, Georgia. Red Ribbon Week highlights 
the combined efforts of public and business groups to fight drugs 
throughout the community, but particularly in our schools. The event 
brings together and encourages participants in this outstanding effort.
  This year, Mr. Jack Pezold was chosen to be the keynote speaker. Mr. 
Pezold has been an extremely active member of the Columbus community 
and has set an example which should be an inspiration to young people.
  Although Mr. Pezold has been very successful in his business 
endeavors, it is his altruistic activities for which he will longer be 
appreciated and remembered. Mr. Pezold has been a major contributor to 
the ``Drug Free You and Me'' program in the Muscogee County schools for 
many years. He also has contributed his time and plane to fly for the 
``Angel Flights'' program, an organization which flies sick children 
and their families to different cities to receive medical treatment. In 
addition, he is Honorary Chairman of the Childrens' Miracle Network. He 
is involved with the Partners in Education Program, and this year 
purchased a portable classroom for the school, in addition to the other 
things he does for the school throughout the year. Mr. Pezold is 
extremely active and supportive in the maintenance of the Ronald 
McDonald House of West Georgia, of which he is Chairman.
  It was because of his concern over the contents of broadcast 
programming for children that Mr. Pezold bought his first television 
station. In the ensuing years, he worked to provide a high quality of 
viewing from this media which has such an impact on growing children. 
Although he no longer owns his stations, he continues his efforts in 
support of actions and programs which will build character and 
integrity in our young people . . . and adults as well. Therefore, it 
was particularly appropriate for Jack Pezold to provide the keynote 
address to the adults and young people involved in ``Red Ribbon Week.'' 
Because his remarks which uphold the need for character, honor and 
integrity are so pertinent to our debate in Congress today, I submit 
them for the review of my colleagues. I hope we will all keep these 
standards in mind as we work to uphold the trust which have been placed 
in us by the American public.

       Remarks by Mr. Jack Pezold, Red Ribbon Week, Columbus, GA.

       Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. 
     First I want to congratulate each of you for your part in 
     kicking off this Special Week, Red Ribbon Week. There is a 
     genuine spirit of partnership here in Columbus, between the 
     public and business sectors that is bridged, to large degree 
     by our Chamber of Commerce. I want to commend you for that in 
     helping to deal with the scourge of drugs in our community. 
     Each of you understand the importance of healthy lives and 
     lifestyles. We are gathered here to celebrate, highlight and 
     recommit ourselves to what we believe to be the standard for 
     ourselves, our families, and our community. I think it is 
     good that this body of leaders have individually and 
     collectively committed to do something about our problem, on 
     a local basis in a positive way. These are the people that 
     stand for what is right, even if it isn't cool.
       How did we get where we are today, we ask. All too often we 
     have stood back as the experts, the secular humanists, who 
     believe that we are our own God, who have told us throughout 
     sixties and seventies that we are each islands, that we 
     should be free to do whatever feels good, and if it doesn't 
     feel good, do it until it does. Let me tell you about those 
     kind of experts. These are the intellectual elite who 
     denigrate our heritage and spiritual underpinnings as old 
     fashioned, out of date and out of step with the current 
     politically correct thinking. These are the Hollywood Icons 
     that have been created as prophets by Godless, shameless, 
     money mongers who would sell their mother to Satan for money. 
     They are masters of the glitz and the glamour and deceit. 
     They fill our television and movie screens with the images of 
     lifestyles and behaviors, always without consequences, that 
     feeds our prideful spirits. A 30 minute or 2 hour episode of 
     mind numbing violence, sex, drugs, alcohol and any other form 
     of outrageous behavior imaginable and unimaginable.
       I know from which I speak. On May 1 of this year I sold 2 
     television stations. I bought that first station because I 
     felt strongly about the content of children's programming. I 
     regret that I was unable to do more to influence the 
     direction of that programming, but I was able to do some 
     things. My point is that I have seen the inside of this 
     industry and while there are many fine individuals, they are 
     on a slippery slope. This culture is cultivated by some of 
     the richest and by virtue of their industry, the most 
     powerful people. Their power rests in their ability to shape 
     the huge entertainment industry, even our daily newscasts. 
     They fill our children's minds with experiences so incredibly 
     graphic, they could pass for real.
       How in the world can this happen, that our values and 
     ideals are sacrificed without insurrection right before our 
     very eyes? How did the Adolf Hitler come to power? Both are 
     just as insidious and pervasive. Both promised a break from 
     the past, that because of who we are as human beings, we have 
     a divine right to a special heritage. Parents and the 
     conventional leadership are preventing us from achieving the 
     divine utopian place of happiness, and prosperity where we 
     deserve to be. Not once have I heard the Hollywood Money 
     Mongers mention consequences for the lifestyle influence they 
     exerted on our lives. Never once did Adolf Hitler mention to 
     the German people the destruction and ruin that his quest for 
     power would bring upon them. The result is millions and 
     millions of men, women, and children lost their very lives so 
     that one man's greed could be satisfied. The money Mongers 
     are costing lives as well, sacrificing the souls of our 
     children for lining their pockets with absolutely no 
     thought given to the long term consequences of their 
     greed. Just a few days ago, I read where Clarence Thomas 
     asked an elementary class what they would do if a monster 
     were trying to suck out their brains. The answer the kids 
     gave was to throw their TV in the dumpster! Perhaps they 
     know better than we!!
       The result is that we now have all sorts of behavior being 
     justified under the guise of It Doesn't Matter. I am here to 
     tell you this morning that it does matter. It matters to the 
     children, who are our future, who without love and attention 
     and nurturing will grow up with the TV as their mentor. Have 
     we forgotten that each of us is born on this earth inherently 
     ignorant, but with a phenomenal learning capacity for good or 
     evil. But is it not true that good or simply ``doing the 
     right thing'' requires some degree of pain and suffering. At 
     times we must forfeit immediate gratification, making short 
     term sacrifices for long term gain. But the Experts would 
     have us believe that we can have it both ways. You can have 
     it all. Just drink this, smoke that, say that, act this way 
     and you will be cool and accepted and rich and powerful and 
     beautiful and gifted and smart and admired and loved and all 
     of the marvelous positive adjectives that our vocabulary can 
     command.
       The problem is, sooner or later, reality steps in. The 
     world nor life itself in any way resembles the conjectures 
     that we are led to believe are accurate. Remember a few years 
     ago when the women's revolution came about. The word from the 
     Experts was that you can have it all. Not only that, but 
     having any less than a career was degrading. Mothers were 
     degraded for staying at home to raise their children. That is 
     not smart work. Put someone in your place at home and go out 
     into the exciting life of the world. Children don't need 
     mom's and dad's are totally irrelevant. Only recently has 
     this theory been proven to be overblown and downright wrong. 
     We now await the next version of social experiment that these 
     Experts will impart on us, tearing apart our families, the 
     very fabric of our society.
       A few years ago, we were assured by these Experts, that 
     ability mattered, not character. We now, as a result of our 
     Expert engineered dumbing down, have our leaders deliberately 
     lying to us, and telling us that It Doesn't Matter. We can 
     have it all. We have a strong economy, everyone that wants a 
     job can have one, we have a budget surplus, and we are at 
     peace. As a result, a full majority of the population agree 
     that this is OK. Because making us feel good far overshadows 
     a little anomaly like lying! And their spin doctors nightly 
     remind us that it doesn't matter, because everybody does it, 
     and besides, where would we be if they were not our leaders. 
     Besides,
       These leaders are doing a good job! Imagine the arrogance. 
     Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you this morning that the 
     beginning of the end of all of the greatest civilizations 
     that have ever inhabited this earth began with a lie. A lie, 
     by their leaders, to the people in order to curry some form 
     of favor or power or money to those leaders. How could they 
     have not seen through this thin mask, you might ask? Because 
     they, as we, are intoxicated with the visions of a glorious 
     future where we are cool and accepted and rich and powerful 
     and beautiful and gifted and smart and admired and loved and 
     on and on. We need to be vigilant, not of the threats from 
     outside, but from inside our own homes. We need to come 
     together as one community, one family, committed to the good 
     that God has ordained us for and stand up for rightness, what 
     we know in our hearts to be right. Not the Expert Version of 
     Rightness, for the long term good of our family, our 
     community, our nation. We are the beacon to the world. We are 
     the children of the poor, humble descendants of the 
     immigrants who migrated here in search of a better future. 
     Which of us would return to our forefathers native land in 
     search of a better lifestyle and future? Our forefathers 
     forsaked all that they had in their homeland in search of 
     opportunity. God has chosen to bless this nation far beyond 
     any riches accumulated by any civilization in history. These 
     blessings are ours to use and multiply and safeguard and 
     cherish for future generations. Or to squander on ourselves 
     under the delusion of becoming cool and accepted and rich and 
     powerful and beautiful and gifted and smart and admired and 
     loved. . . . .

[[Page E2350]]

       The choice is ours. Our freedom demands the choice be made. 
     We need to be bigger than our individual selves in the here 
     and now and look at what is best for our children's future. 
     What legacy are we going to leave for them, that we stood up 
     for the Biblical standards of moral character, of right from 
     wrong, of honesty, integrity, and righteousness and pass on 
     this high threshold of absolute standards. Are we going to 
     pass on to our children the slippery slope of a declining 
     empire whose inhabitants are so consumed in themselves that 
     they fail to recognize the worth of our heritage, the very 
     moral fabric which sustains our freedom in this country. Can 
     we long endure this slide? Is there not a bottom to every 
     fall? Are there not consequences?
       Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to challenge each of you 
     today, to go out of this facility committed to embrace the 
     faith of our forefathers and share the standards and ideals 
     of rightness with our children, grandchildren, students, 
     employees, and co-workers. I truly believe that God will 
     honor our efforts by blessing and rewarding us and our 
     community. Your reward will surely be exceeded by many, many 
     magnitudes, the small sacrifices which you have made. Thank 
     you for the opportunity to be with you today and may God 
     continue to bless you and your family.