[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16070]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE DIGNIFIED CONTRIBUTION OF LIZZIE PALMER TO THE PUBLIC 
                       APPRECIATION OF OUR TROOPS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DEBORAH PRYCE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 15, 2007

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 15-year-
old Lizzie Palmer, a constituent of mine from Columbus, Ohio, for her 
powerful and emotion-provoking video production, Remember Me.
  For those who have not seen it, I respectfully recommend you do so. A 
5-minute montage of photos of American soldiers and their families, 
Lizzie's video does not editorialize on the War in Iraq. It does not 
choose sides in the debate on the War on Terror. It is not a political 
statement. Rather, it conveys the very message that so many of us in 
this body recite day in and day out on this very floor: Support the 
troops.
  Yet it conveys her support for the troops in a thoughtful, dignified 
and mature manner that fully transcends the way in which the phrase is 
often used as a tagline by so many on both sides of the debate.
  Unfortunately and unwittingly, however, Lizzie herself has become 
embroiled in America's debate on the war. The deep-seeded and sincere 
emotions that so many Americans feel about the War on Terror have now 
entered her realm, and have somehow cast her video as controversial, 
where no controversy should exist.
  On YouTube, Lizzie's video has been watched more than 12 million 
times, and nearly 6,000 viewers have posted their comments and 
reactions to it. While most postings come from people deeply moved and 
appreciative of Lizzie's creation, the site also now serves as host to 
our nation's bitter divide on our presence in Iraq--a vitriolic and 
rancorous debate over America's foreign policy.
  Inciting such a debate was never Lizzie's intention. According to 
Lizzie, she created this video to express her gratitude to the American 
men and women of our nation's all-volunteer force. She simply wanted to 
express her appreciation to our soldiers who day in and day out perform 
their duty professionally and proficiently, without qualification and 
without complaint.
  Just as she does not pass judgment on why they are there, we should 
not seek to use Remember Me to further our own agenda. Those who do so 
have entirely failed to grasp the simple but fundamental message Lizzie 
is conveying to our soldiers: We support you without qualification. We 
should honor them all, and thank them for their thankless task at hand.
  We all sit stateside, out of harm's way, opine on the efficacy of our 
mission in Iraq, and all claim to have the best interests of our troops 
at heart. But sometimes it takes the clearer vision of a 15-year-old--a 
vision unfettered, unencumbered, and unclouded by the politics of the 
world around us--to help remind us of what is truly important in this 
debate.

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