[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          IN PRAISE OF MOTHERS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. C.L. ``BUTCH'' OTTER

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2003

  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, there are 435 of us in the United States 
House of Representatives. We come from almost every imaginable race, 
religion, creed and family background. Our political persuasions run 
the gamut of the American experience, and we sometimes seem to have 435 
distinctly different viewpoints on any given issue.
  Yet every one of us in the House--indeed, everyone on Capitol Hill--
has at least one thing in common, and we cherish it most dearly. We all 
are the sons and daughters of the mothers who gave us life, who did 
their best to nurture and teach us, protect and care for us. For each 
of us, no matter how close or distant it since has become, that mother-
and-child bond was the first formative influence on the people we were 
to become.
  That bond and formative influence is as strong as ever for me. I am 
incredibly fortunate to have the warm affection and sage advice of my 
Mother still in my life. I was the sixth of Regina Otter's nine 
children. Not a day goes by that I don't draw inspiration from her 
physical, mental and spiritual strength after 88 years in this world. 
Her example of faith, charity, hard work, selfless dedication to family 
and friends and individual responsibility remains the standard by which 
I judge myself. I will forever fall short.
  Perhaps more of our public policy debates should be infused with the 
wisdom of our mothers. Would we behave as selfishly, as myopically, if 
at crucial moments we recalled what Mom would want? Would we feel so 
compelled to seek out the political benefit, to place the short-term 
advantage over the long-term good, if Mom were there to remind us--
sweetly but firmly--of the simple but profound truths of right and 
wrong?
  Those of us in public life sometimes fall into the trap of believing 
our own press clippings--at least the positive ones. We think ourselves 
grand, elected by the good people of the world's oldest democracy, 
entrusted with the will of the greatest nation on Earth. At such times 
we would do well to remember the words of George Bernard Shaw, who 
said, ``Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by 
anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.''
  Mothers do that.
  Yes, fathers also are incredibly important to strong families. 
Despite decades of social experimentation, research and analysis, no 
sound substitute has been found for the values, structured growth and 
sense of mutual dependence one finds in a traditional family unit for 
those fortunate enough to have it.
  But make no mistake: Mothers are the anchors holding families in 
place against the gales, and the engines that enable them to progress 
toward their goals even through stormy seas. They are the lodestar on 
which we all depend to find our way through life. They are the shining 
examples of compassion and love to which we all aspire. And they are 
the souls of frail humanity who evoke the best from us when times are 
at their worst.
  So on this Mother's Day, and every day, take some time to honor the 
one who made you who you are. Whether they are with you still or passed 
to a better place, the gesture will be noticed and appreciated. And you 
will be a better person for it.
  Thank you, Mom.

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