    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [July 10, 1995]
    [Page 1067]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Closing of Session I of the Family Re-Union IV Conference
    in Nashville
    July 10, 1995

        I don't want to end on a downer, but I just want to ask you all to
    think about the implications of what we are discussing here. And I wish
    we had time for all the audience to ask their questions and make their
    comments, but let me just point this out.
        Almost every major city in America has had a decline in the crime
    rate in the last 3 or 4 years, but the rate of random violence among
    very young people is still going up, notwithstanding the decline in the
    crime rate. That is just one example. After years of making progress on
    reducing drug use, the rate of apparently random drug use across racial
    and income lines among quite young people is now going back up again.
    The rate of perceived risk or the pointlessness of not doing it seems to
    be going down.
        The ultimate answer may be in programs like the ``I Have A Future''
    program and all these one-on-one programs for all these children. But I
    would ask you just to remember what one of our psychologists said, which
    is that most of our young people learn about violence or are affected by
    it between the ages of 2 and 8. Most of them learn--deal with sex and
    gender stereotypes between 8 and whenever.
        It may be that people between 8 and whenever are more subject to
    argument at least or counter information or the kind of publicity or you
    name it on these other issues we can put out. So let's focus at least on
    the violence. I see no alternative to solving this problem than to
    reduce the aggregate amount of violence to which these children are
    subject. And we're going to have to have some help from the media to get
    that done. I just don't see any alternative to that.
        The V-chip is something we ought to do, but if we're going to raise
    positive role models we also have to reduce the aggregate amount of
    violence. We must find a systematic way to do it. And in our country,
    with the first amendment and other things being the way they are, we're
    going to have to have some voluntary initiatives and some disciplined
    support from the media in America to get it done.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. in Polk Theater at the Tennessee
    Performing Arts Center.