Date: 1998-10-10
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. as Congress approaches the conclusion of what history will surely judge among the most solemn week in the history of Congress. I rise to address my colleagues tonight in this special order and in this great Chamber. For it was on this very floor that we all swore allegiance by the same oath. to the same Constitution. to one- mighty Nation before the one true God. In the hallways and passages beyond. this Congress has found itself consumed by the events leading up to a regrettable decision. Speculation of impending elections. national budgets. the economy. and the fate of legislation have all been proffered and examined through the prism of the Presidents uncertain fate. Today. my remarks are not about politics. They concern things having nothing to do with party. power. or influence. Today I would like to send a strong message to my daughters. Jennifer. Emily. and Sara. They do not care about politics. they do not care about it any way. And at their young ages. they should not have to. In fact. I am troubled as a father that they are now asking as many questions as they do about our President. broaching subjects that young girls should not have to consider. and about which no father in America should ever have to endure. But I want them to care very much about what I am about to say. Tonight. I speak as much as I can. no matter whether I am in Washington or in Colorado. no matter if I am too busy or not. no matter how many fundraising calls I have to return. I try to teach them everything I know about what is important in life. and I try to. show them by words and by my actions what I believe to be from the bottom of my heart what I am telling them. It is a huge responsibility. bigger than I ever imagined. because I know that they look up to me. Jennifer and Emily and Sara. I would never want to let you down. I think about that a lot. And whenever I think about the difficulties of setting a good example. I wonder if I am up to the challenge. but then I think about the example of my own father and the one he set for me. I feel guilty for even thinking about taking the easy way out. I am so proud of my father. and I want you to be proud of me. Although I talk to you often. I know that words rarely have the same impact that actions have. but today. all I have are words. I have always taught my children that America is a great country. in fact. the greatest country in the world. I know that they understand that. because they know that what their mother and I feel about the American flag and what we think about the Star Spangled Banner. the Pledge of Allegiance and what the word patriotism means are of paramount importance. I think they also know that I love America not because I happen to be born in America and because I am an American. but because America stands for certain things. To be proud to be an American also means to be proud of what America stands for. and I want them to be proud as Americans. I want them to stand for what America stands for. For the last several months. they have been becoming more and more aware of various controversies concerning the President. questions about the truth and words that they have never heard before. like impeachment. My daughters. this controversy matters. It matters a lot. And it affects you and it will affect everyone in America. America faces a moral crisis today. and as of this very moment. no one knows what the outcome will be. Americans are confused and div ided about moral issues as they have rarely been before. and our moral confusion affects almost every aspect of our life. even if one does not care about politics. Even the word "moral" is confusing to people. and "values" is a word used endlessly by politicians. its meaning lost among the other slogans and buzzwords of the day. "Moral" means it is about right and wrong. "Moral" means it is about good and bad. I try to teach my children about right and wrong every day. and their mother does too. It is the most important thing we teach. I want them to grow up with a clear sense of right and wrong. I do not want them to suffer from the same confusion that many others are suffering right at this moment. Many people say that I have no right to tell anyone what is right and what is wrong. even though I am a father. Given the many times I have tried to teach my children right from wrong. they might find that to be pretty strange. But many people do not even believe that there is right and wrong anymore. Jenny. Emily and Sara. in time. you will come to your own conclusions about all this. but in the meantime you will hear us talk about right and wrong more than you would like. Again. because it is the most important thing we can give you. and because it is a sign that we care about what kind of people you grow up to be. It is a sign that we love you very. very much. One thing we teach you is that it is wrong to lie. When we ask you a question. we expect you to tell the truth. no matter how much it hurts. Even if it means that you might get in big trouble. we know that telling the truth is habit forming. People who get in the habit of lying just seem to have a hard time telling the truth about anything. Some people are such habitual liars that they never break out of the habit. and when you do not tell the truth. people no longer believe you. They will not trust you. and people you respect will not want to have anything to do with you. My wife and I try to teach our children many other things. in addition to telling the truth. that are very important. Kindness to those who are suffering. or who arein need is another thing that we want our children to learn. Taking advantage of a person who is weaker than you is wrong. Failing to extend kindness to a person in need is in the same category. Loyalty to your family and friends is right. Betrayal of those you love is wrong. Loyalty is important because it is about trust. Your friends. your family know you and come to trust you. When you break that trust. you hurt the people you have been counting on and who have been counting on your loyalty and your trust. Many of these simple things are not more than common decency. The kinds of qualities you find in people whom you admire because they are honest. goodhearted souls that make life a truly special gift. It is true that life is not always so simple and there are times when anyone will find themselves torn between two terrible choices. But the basics of right and wrong should never be in doubt. And ones integrity. ones worth as an honorable person is always something that everyone should care a lot about. It is also something that no one can ever take away. Only you can abandon it. You can lose your house. your job. your loved ones. but only you decide whether or not you will be able to keep your integrity. Mr. Speaker. if my daughters were here in front of me today. I would t ell them that only you can decide whether or not you will be able to keep your integrity. To my daughters I would say my message to you today concerns not only you. but the people you will meet in life. the people in our neighborhood. the families you will marry into. the State in which you live and the country that we all love. I want you to care about the honesty and integrity of our country. I want you to care about other people in your lives. and I want those people to care about you too. I want you to cherish other people who care about honesty and integrity. I want you to avoid those who do not. That means you must judge. You must be able to say with firm conviction what is right and what is wrong. You must not be afraid to ever do so. no matter what anyone else says. I do not want to live in a country where people are afraid to make judgments or who could not even make them if they wanted to. I do not want to live in a country where people are indifferent to the truth. where lies are told and accepted as easily as the truth is. I do not want to live in a country where people are so morally confused that they have to ask why it all matters. I do not want to live in a country where wrongdoing. lies. deceit and betrayal are dismissed with the comment that "everyone else does it." My daughters. I want you to know that. by God. everyone else does not do it. Everyone else does not do it. I do not care what the polls say. I do not care what sophisticated people living in New York or Washington. D.C. think. I do not care if the people who belong to exclusive clubs have something to say about it. To each of my daughters. I do not care if you are the last person on this planet. I want you to be a person of honesty and integrity who knows right from wrong and who is not afraid to say so. I want you to think that honoring the promises you make to other people are promises that must not be broken. I want you to think that the promises you make to God are promises that matter even more. Most of all. I want you to know that these are the things that matter most. And that is my message today from your father who loves you very. very much.