[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1976-1977]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   RECONCILIATION AND VALENTINE'S DAY

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I want to speak for a few minutes on a 
bill that I am going to be putting forward shortly and then tie it in 
to this day. It is Valentine's Day. I hope everybody has called their 
special person. I hope they have called their mother. I hope they have 
called the people to whom they think they ought to reach out. If they 
have not done so, there is still time. There is special delivery of 
flowers, candy, and others things that can be done. They can still 
capture the day and the moment for the people to whom they should be 
reaching out.
  I want to talk about a national day of reconciliation. This is an 
effort by both Houses to identify what needs to be done to reconcile 
the Nation and past and present problems.
  We are at the beginning of a new administration and at the beginning 
of a new millennium. This would be a good time to do this.
  It is a simple proposition, a basic proposition of what we need to do 
to identify--something we should have done--and correct past wrongs. I 
am hoping we can identify and move that forward without difficulty and 
controversy. It will be a very healthy exercise.
  It is also healthy to recognize the basis of some of these days we 
celebrate. That is why I put forward this notion of reconciliation on 
Valentine's Day. It is a lot more than just hearts, cards, and candy.
  I commend to the Senate an article written by Mark Merrill in the 
Washington Times today. He is president of Family First, an 
independent, nonprofit research group that strengthens families. He 
supports the story of Valentine, the true Valentine. I understand there 
are three St. Valentines. All three were martyred. All three were 
tremendously dedicated to other individuals and to helping them.
  The one he identifies is the first Valentine. It is quite a story. I 
ask unanimous consent to print this article in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Times, Feb. 14, 2001]

 Sacrificial Love--St. Valentine's Contribution to Love and Commitment

                          (By Mark W. Merrill)

       Do you know the real story behind Valentine's Day? It goes 
     way beyond hearts, cards and candy. It is a story of love, 
     sacrifice and commitment.
       In the third century, the Roman Empire was ruled by 
     Claudius Gothicus. He was nicknamed ``Claudius the Cruel'' 
     because of his harsh leadership and his tendency for getting 
     into wars. In fact, he was in so many wars that he was having 
     a difficult time recruiting soldiers.
       Claudius believed that recruitment for the army was down 
     because Roman men did not want to leave their loves or 
     families behind, so he canceled all marriages and engagements 
     in Rome. Thousands of couples saw their hopes of matrimony 
     dashed by the single act of a tyrant.
       But a simple Christian priest named Valentine came forward 
     and stood up for love. He began to secretly marry soldiers 
     before they went off to war, despite the emperor's orders. In 
     269 AD, Emperor Claudius found out about the secret 
     ceremonies. He had Valentine thrown into prison and ordered 
     him put to death.
       He gave his life so that couples could be bonded together 
     in holy matrimony. They may have killed the man, but not his 
     spirit. Even centuries after his death, the story of 
     Valentine's self-sacrificing commitment to love was legendary 
     in Rome. Eventually, he was granted sainthood and the 
     Catholic church decided to create a feast in his honor. They 
     picked Feb. 14 because of the ancient belief that birds 
     (particularly lovebirds and doves) began to mate on that very 
     day.
       So what are you doing to keep the love in your marriage? 
     While gifts, candlelight dinners and sweet words are nice, 
     the true spirit of Valentine's Day needs to last year-round.
       Here are some ways to bring more love into your marriage:
       Schedule priority time together. Pull out your calendars 
     and set a date night every week or two--just to spend time 
     together and talk. (Note: Movies don't count)
       Laugh together. When was the last time you shared a funny 
     story and chuckled with each other? Loosen up and laugh 
     freely. Live lightheartedly.
       Play together. Find a hobby or activity you both enjoy--
     fishing, bowling, tennis, hiking, biking or crossword 
     puzzles.

[[Page 1977]]

       Be romantic together. Send your spouse a note of 
     encouragement in the mail every once in awhile just to say, 
     ``I love you.''
       However, you choose to express yourself, do it in the 
     spirit of the selfless Saint Valentine--who not only took a 
     stand for love--he gave his life for it.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. I will read portions of the article because it is so 
instructive about what Valentine's Day is about.

       In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire was ruled by Claudius 
     Gothicus. He was nicknamed ``Claudius the Cruel''--

  That is a pretty auspicious name for an emperor--

     because of his harsh leadership and tendency for getting into 
     wars. In fact, he was in so many wars he was having a 
     difficult time recruiting soldiers.
       Claudius believed that recruitment for the Army was down 
     because Roman men did not want to leave their loves or their 
     families behind. . . .

  So what do you do if you are emperor and cannot get people to sign 
up? He banned the institution of marriage and said there was not going 
to be marriage allowed anymore.

       Thousands of couples saw their hopes for matrimony dashed 
     by the single act of a tyrant.
       But a simple Christian priest named Valentine came forward 
     and stood up for love. He began to secretly marry soldiers 
     before they went off to war, despite the emperor's orders. In 
     269 AD, Emperor Claudius found out about the secret 
     ceremonies. He had Valentine thrown into prison and ordered 
     him put to death.
       He gave his life so couples could be bonded together in 
     holy matrimony. They may have killed the man, but not his 
     spirit. Even centuries after his death, the story of 
     Valentine's self-sacrificing commitment to love was legendary 
     in Rome. Eventually, he was granted sainthood and the 
     Catholic church decided to create a feast in his honor. They 
     picked February 14 because of the ancient belief that birds 
     (particularly lovebirds and doves) began to mate on that very 
     day.

  I think it is interesting to look back into the history of why it is 
we celebrate certain days and when we celebrate them. There is usually 
a beautiful story, this tapestry of something of beauty in our heritage 
that I always think of in redigging that well and seeing what is there.

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