[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       THE SPIRIT OF HERSHEY: RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES OF OPINION

  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I truly hope that the spirit of Hershey is not 
gone already. Last weekend we had the second congressional bipartisan 
civility retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We tried, in short, to come 
together to find a way where we can still disagree on issues without 
being so disagreeable.
  I believe we made some progress last weekend. But to be on the safe 
side, we were honored to have with us Sir John Hume, the Nobel Peace 
prize winner of last year, due to his role in negotiating the peace 
agreement in Northern Ireland. We were hoping to get some wise words 
from him. I believe he delivered.
  He reminded us in attendance that, ``Differences of opinion should 
not be viewed as a threat. The answer to difference is not to fight 
about it but to respect it, for the differences are the essence of 
humanity, because there are no two people in the world who are the 
same.''
  As we begin debates that seriously affect the Nation and our future, 
such as Kosovo, such as the budget, I would hope and pray that we 
remember these wise words from Sir John Hume.

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