[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 103 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H4762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             {time}   1715
                              ALOHA SPIRIT

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, a week ago, a man walked into a church in 
South Carolina and, in cold blood, gunned down nine worshippers. His 
actions were motivated by ignorance and hate. Throughout history and 
also in present day, unfortunately, there has been so much terror and 
suffering caused by ignorance and hate.
  Mr. Speaker, in order to truly transcend racism, we must do more than 
remove slurs from our national vocabulary. In Hawaii, my home State, 
that consciousness is known as the aloha spirit--the consciousness of 
love and respect for all others, regardless of differences such as 
race, religion, gender, or nationality.
  Understanding this truth is the path to peace. I would like to quote 
Mahatma Gandhi who said:

       There must be a recognition of the existence of the soul 
     apart from the body, and of its permanent nature, and this 
     recognition must amount to a living faith; and, in the last 
     resort, nonviolence does not avail those who do not possess a 
     living faith in the God of love.

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