Proclamation 5430.
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100 STAT. 4395 Proclamation 5430 of January 15, 1986 National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation America was founded with a ringing affirmation of the transcendence of human rights. Our Declaration of Independence proclaims that the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are not a grant from the government, but a gift from the Creator; and we declared that the same Divine Providence in which the new Nation placed its “firm reliance” imposes on government a solemn duty to respect and secure these fundamental rights.
Yet, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down our laws protecting the lives of unborn children. At that time there were those who predicted confidently that in time Americans would come to accept the Court’s decision and the “new ethic” that it reflects. History has proved them wrong. Each year the terrible toll of more than a million innocent human lives has weighed more heavily on the conscience of America. Each year remarkable advances in prenatal medicine bring ever more dramatic confirmation of what common sense told us all along—that the child in the womb is simply what each of us once was: a very young, very small, dependent, vulnerable member of the human family.
When Americans demand legal protection for human life, we are simply being true to our most basic principles and convictions. We are reaffirming the self-evident truths set forth in our Declaration of Independence. Indeed, we are reaffirming the consensus of civilized humanity by recognizing that children need special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth. Those who champion the right to life know the harsh pressures and the profound anguish that drive some women to consider abortion.
The most moving testimony to our reverence for human life has been the generous, even heroic efforts made by so many religious and charitable organizations to help women with problem pregnancies and to facilitate the adoption of infants into families eager to give them love and care. Those who work to restore legal protection to the unborn do so with the knowledge that they have gone to the defense of the weak, the silent, the endangered. But that is not something new. Whenever disasters have endangered human life, we Americans have always responded swiftly and selflessly.
Respect for the sanctity of human life has not died in America. Far from it. With every passing year it shines ever more brightly in the hearts of more and more of our citizens as they come to see the issue with greater clarity in all of its dimensions. As we carry this message to our courts, our legislatures, and our fellow citizens, let us never be discouraged. Let us put our trust in God, the Lord and Giver of Life, the Creator Who endowed us with our inalienable rights. May we soon rejoice in the day when reverence for human life is enshrined as surely in our laws as in our hearts.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 19, 1986, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day, I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on that day in homes and places of worship to give thanks for the 100 STAT. 4396gift of life and to reaffirm our commitment to the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of each human life. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of Jan., in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.
RONALD REAGAN 5431 January 18, 1986 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5431 of January 18, 1986 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This year marks the first observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a national holiday. It is a time for rejoicing and reflecting. We rejoice because, in his short life, Dr.
King, by his preaching, his example, and his leadership, helped to move us closer to the ideals on which America was founded. We reflect on his words and his works. Dr. King’s was truly a prophetic voice that reached out over the chasms of hostility, prejudice, ignorance, and fear to touch the conscience of America. He challenged us to make real the promise of America as a land of freedom, equality, opportunity, and brotherhood. Although Dr. King was an uncompromising champion of nonviolence, he was often the victim of violence.
And, as we know, a shameful act of violence cut short his life before he had reached his fortieth birthday. His story is well-known. As a 26-year-old minister of the Gospel, Dr. King led a protest boycott of a bus company that segregated blacks, treating them as second-class citizens. At the very outset he admonished all those who would join in the protest that “our actions must be guided by the deepest principles of our Christian faith. Love must be our regulating ideal.” Otherwise, he warned, “our protest will end up as a meaningless drama on the stage of history . . . shrouded with ugly garments of shame.
” Dr. King’s unshakable faith inspired others to resist the temptation to hate and fear. His protest became a triumph of courage and love. Almost 30 years ago, on January 30, 1956, Dr. King stood amid the broken glass and splinters of his bombed-out front porch and calmed an angry crowd clamoring for vengeance. “We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence,“ he told them. Dr. King steadfastly opposed both the timid and those who counselled violence. To the former, he preached that “true peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.
” To the latter, he said that “in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.” Dr. King’s activism was rooted in the true patriotism that cherishes America’s ideals and strives to narrow the gap between those ideals and reality. He took his stand, he once explained, “because of my love for America and the sublime principles of liberty and equality on which she is founded.” He wanted “to transform the jangling discords of our Nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
” The majesty of his message, the dignity of his bearing, and the righteousness of his cause are a lasting legacy. In a few short years he changed 100 STAT. 4397America for all time. He made it possible for our Nation to move closer to the ideals set forth in our Declaration of Independence: that all people are created equal and are endowed with inalienable rights that government has the duty to respect and protect. Twenty-three years ago, Dr. King spoke to a quarter of a million Americans gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington—and to tens of millions more watching on television.
There he held up his dream for America like a bright banner: “I have a dream,” he said, “that my four little children will one day live in a Nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character .... This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.” Let all Americans continue to carry forward the banner that 18 years ago fell from Dr.
King’s hands. Today, all over America, libraries, hospitals, parks, and thoroughfares proudly bear his name. His likeness appears on more than 100 postage stamps issued by dozens of nations around the globe. Today we honor him with speeches and monuments. But let us do more. Let all Americans of every race and creed and color work together to build in this blessed land a shining city of brotherhood, justice, and harmony. This is the monument Dr. King would have wanted most of all.
By Public Law 98–144, the third Monday in January of each year has been designated as a public holiday in honor of the “Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.” NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 20, 1986, as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.
RONALD REAGAN 5432 January 21, 1986 National Jaycee Week, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5432 of January 21, 1986 National Jaycee Week, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Nowhere has the spirit of voluntarism shone more brightly than among the members of the United States Jaycees and its affiliated State and local organizations. Currently numbering more than 268,000 members and more than 6,500 chapters in 50 States, Jaycees have actively involved themselves in the life of our communities by providing leadership, rendering services, and returning the biblical hundredfold in a variety of endeavors.
Their note-worthy contributions include such humanitarian projects as assistance to the elderly, fundraising for the disadvantaged, cardiopulmonary resuscitation programs, energy conservation, and countless other efforts to address community needs. 100 STAT. 4398 The heart and soul of the Jaycee philosophy may be found in its brief 65-word Creed: “We believe: That faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human life; That the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations;
That economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise; That government should be of laws rather than of men; That earth’s great treasure lies in human personality; And that service to humanity is the best work of life.” In recognition of the accomplishments of the United States Jaycees, the Congress of the United States, by Senate Joint Resolution 213, has designated the week beginning January 19, 1986, as “National Jaycee Week” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning January 19, 1986, as National Jaycee Week, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe that period with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.
RONALD REAGAN 5433 January 25, 1986 Truck and Bus Safety Week, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5433 of January 25, 1986 Truck and Bus Safety Week, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Truck and bus safety is important to all Americans. More than 5 million trucks travel more than 135 billion miles each year on our highways transporting raw materials, finished goods, food, and other essential products and services.
Buses annually carry millions of Americans to over 10,000 cities and communities. Clearly, the safe maintenance and operation of trucks and buses is vital to the health and safety of all users of our Nation’s thoroughfares. The truck and bus industry is a major employer in our country, essential to the Nation and to the smooth and safe flow of commerce. The safe operation of trucks and buses is of great consequence to the motoring public with which they share the roads. Safety compliance not only saves lives, it is also sound business practice.
It reflects well on the industry and enhances profitability. Ultimately, the most important means to improve safe operation are those activities undertaken by the truck and bus industry itself. Therefore, I challenge each and every person, business, and association involved in the industry to make a commitment to encourage safe truck and bus operations. I am convinced that such an effort will reward everyone. The industry must also inform the public that safety is one of its highest priorities.
January is a particularly appropriate time to direct the Nation’s attention to special care in the operation of vehicles on the highways, because of ice and snow conditions in many parts of the country. Observance of this week 100 STAT. 4399should help to establish an increased safety consciousness throughout the entire year. I call upon our State governments to increase their efforts to improve safety compliance, using their own resources as well as funds provided by the Federal government.
I call upon industry, labor, and the professional drivers of the country to continue to improve the safe operation of trucks and buses. Very special care must be exercised in seeing to the safe maintenance and operation of trucks carrying extremely hazardous materials. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 235, has designated the week beginning January 26, 1986 as “Truck and Bus Safety Week” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of January 26 through February 1, 1986, as Truck and Bus Safety Week, and I call upon all Americans to observe this week with appropriate activities and informational programs. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.
RONALD REAGAN 5434 January 28, 1986 Death of American Astronauts on Board Space Shuttle Challenger Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5434 of January 28, 1986 Death of American Astronauts on Board Space Shuttle Challenger By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation As a mark of respect to the memory of Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair, Judith A. Resnik, Gregory B.
Jarvis, and Sharon Christa McAuliffe who gave their lives during the mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and Possessions through Monday, February 3, 1986.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth. RONALD REAGAN 5435 January 29, 1986 American Heart Month, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
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Proclamation 5430
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