[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING HEINOUS ATROCITIES THAT OCCURRED AT SANTANA HIGH SCHOOL, 
                           SANTEE, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JIM DeMINT

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 13, 2001

  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, what are we to make of the most recent 
school shooting in California? How do we respond to events that are so 
beyond belief, so tragic that goodness in our world appears no stronger 
than a flickering flame on a shrinking wick?
  The accused is a scrawny, quiet fifteen-year-old named Andy. He was 
relentlessly picked on at his new school in San Diego. A victim of 
bullies, he found no refuge in his broken home. He longed for a 
relationship with his estranged mother. He searched for acceptance. 
``He tried to act cool, but he wasn't cool,'' said one skateboarder who 
saw him trying to fit in with a rougher crowd. He was relentlessly 
hounded for his haircut, his voice, and his clothes. Andy reached out 
to old friends. ``He told me many times that I was the reason he hadn't 
killed himself,'' his closest friend from Maryland said.
  Within minutes of the shooting, the televisions blared with quick-fix 
commentary. Gun control. Lack of self-control. Blame the parents. Blame 
the schools. The answers seemed empty, earthly, leaving many with more 
questions and more confusion.
  I trust you will agree that Andy's actions are a condition of the 
heart. The answer lies in something more than smaller classroom sizes 
or higher test scores.
  Tragically, a dark shadow of spiritual emptiness has eclipsed our 
reliance on the truth and dignity that come from a belief in God--the 
very essence of what provides us with guidance, worth, and meaning. I 
humbly offer this saying from Dorothy Sayers who writes that the 
problem is ``the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks 
to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, lives for 
nothing, finds purpose in nothing, and remains alive because there is 
nothing for which it will die.''
  That, my friends, is the challenge of our time. It is the desperate 
calls of Andy and the despondent cries of the victims. Our youth are 
looking for something beyond the nothing. It is my prayer that we give 
them a reason to believe.

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