[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 52 (Monday, December 30, 2002)]
[Pages 2187-2188]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

December 21, 2002

    Good morning. As families across the Nation gather to celebrate 
Christmas, Laura and I want to extend our best wishes for the holidays. 
We hope that this Christmas will be a time of happiness in your home and 
a time of peace in the world.
    In this season, we celebrate with our families and deeply miss loved 
ones who are no longer with us. Thousands of families in our Nation are 
still grieving over the terrible losses that came to them last year on 
September the 11th. We have not forgotten their loss, and we continue to 
pray for their comfort.
    The Christmas season brings a deeper concern for fellow citizens in 
need. Our country is prosperous; yet we must also remember there are 
pockets of despair in America. Some men and women are facing the 
struggles of illness and old age with no one to help them or pray with 
them. Other Americans fight against terrible addictions. Some young men 
have no family but a gang. Some teenage moms are abandoned and alone. 
And some children wonder if anybody loves them.
    We all share a responsibility to help, both through our Government 
and through individual acts of compassion. In this season of giving, I 
hope all Americans will look for opportunities to donate and volunteer 
where the need is greatest. By reaching out to a neighbor in need, we 
make our country a more just and generous place.
    Our entire Nation is also thinking at this time of year of the men 
and women in the military, many of whom will spend Christmas at posts 
and bases far from home. They stand between Americans and grave danger. 
They serve in the cause of peace and freedom. They wear the uniform 
proudly, and we are so proud of them.
    I have met with these idealistic young men and women across America 
and around the world. I know the sacrifices they make, and in every 
place they serve, they can know that they have the love of their 
families and the gratitude of their Nation.
    At this time of year, we appreciate all the blessings that fill our 
lives, especially the great blessing that came on a holy night in 
Bethlehem. The Christmas story speaks to every generation. It is the 
story of a quiet birth in a little town on the margins of an indifferent 
empire; yet that single event set the direction of history and still 
changes millions of lives.
    For over two millennia, Christmas has carried the message that God 
is with us, and because He is with us we can always live in hope. The 
world we live in is very different from the world of ancient Bethlehem. 
Our need for that hope is still unchanged. In all the challenges and 
dangers of our day, we still seek the promise of peace on Earth.
    Thank you for listening, and Merry Christmas.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:05 p.m. on December 20 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 
21. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 20 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.

[[Page 2188]]