WATTS: America must be a place where all of us -- red, yellow, brown, black and white -- in some way feel a part of the American Dream. It does not happen by dividing us into racial groups. It did not happen by trying to turn rich against poor or by using the politics of fear. It does not happen by reducing our values to the lowest common denominator. And friends, it does not happen by asking Americans to accept what's immoral and wrong in the name of tolerance. We must make our mark on the future as a people who care -- care for our families, for one another, for our neighbors, for all the beautiful children. We must make our mark as a people who share and help each other in need. We must be a people who dare -- dare to take responsibility for our hatreds and fears and ask God to heal us from within. And we must be a people of prayer, a people who pray as if the strength of our nation depended on it -- because it does. When you come right down to it, that's our vision and our agenda. All over the country, I've often told the story of a boy and his father. The father was trying to get some work done and the boy wanted the daddy's attention, but the father was busy at his desk with so much to do. To occupy the boy, this father gave his son a pencil and paper and said, "Here, son. Go draw the family." Two minutes later, he was back with a picture -- all stick figures. So, the dad, trying to buy some more time, said, "Here. Go draw the dog." Two minutes later, he comes back with another stick figure. Now the father was exasperated. He looked around, he saw a magazine, and he remembered that he had seen a picture of the world in this magazine. In what he thought was a stroke of genius, the father tore out the picture and tore it into 20 different pieces. And he said, "Here, son, go put the world back together." And you know what happened? Five minutes later, the little Michelangelo was back saying, "Daddy, look what I've done!" The father looked and he said, "Son, how did you do it so quickly? How did you put the world back together so quickly?" And the little boy answered, "Dad, it was easy. There was a picture of a man on the back of the world -- on the back of the map -- on the back of the world. And once I put the man back together, the world fell into place." And friends, this is our agenda -- to put our men and women back together, to put ourselves back together and in that way get our country back together. I am reminded of the final words of President John Kennedy's inaugural address: He said this: "Let us go forth to lead the land we love, knowing that here on earth, God's work truly must be our own." I say Amen to that. Thank you for your graciousness in listening to me so late in the evening. God bless you, and God bless our children. And thank you very much. (APPLAUSE) END Copyright © 1997 Federal Document Clearing HousePrevious | Page 4 |
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