Proclamation 6421.
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/statutes-at-large/vol-106/proclamation-6421·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
106 STAT. 5246 Proclamation 6421 of April 14, 1992 Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 1992 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The American work force of tomorrow will face unprecedented challenges and opportunities in our increasingly interdependent, techno logical world. How well our students are prepared to meet them will determine not only their ability to succeed as individuals but also the economic competitiveness of our entire Nation. Indeed, our future standard of living will depend heavily on the standards that we set in education today.
That is why we are pressing ahead with AMERICA 2000, our comprehensive strategy to achieve excellence in our schools. While AMERICA 2000 constitutes a vital investment in the future of the United States, we know that a nation’s quality of life depends on much more than worker productivity and economic competitiveness alone. It also depends on the standards of character and conduct that are upheld and cherished by society, since these, in turn, determine the degree of freedom, opportunity, and security enjoyed by each member.
Thus, as we focus on excellence in American education, we must also recognize the importance of moral instruction. As the parent of private virtue and civil order, moral education is vital to the healthy development of our children and to the continued strength and well-being of our Nation. When he took office. President Dwight Eisenhower urged Americans to “proclaim anew” the faith on which the United States is founded. “It is our faith in the deathless dignity of man, *governed by eternal moral and natural laws*.
” This challenging yet ennobling view of humankind stands at the heart of America’s commitment to freedom, equality, and justice. As President Eisenhower noted, it defines our full view of life. We cannot, therefore, overestimate the importance of education that fosters ethical and moral values in keeping with what our Founders called the “laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Moral education is the means by which we preserve the very foundation of this Nation’s great yet precious experiment in self-government.
Public as well as private institutions of learning have both an obligation and a proper interest in advancing principles of ethical conduct and moral virtue. In recent years, we have seen how some “value-neutral” curricula have exploited America’s long-cherished commitment to diversity and tolerance by avoiding the teaching of values. By contrast, teachers who affirm the absolute reality of truth and the timeless, universal value of qualities such as honesty, compassion, and personal accountability help their students to develop a sound inner compass.
Although school has a role to play in providing direction to our youth, moral education begins at home, in the guidance that parents provide for their children, and in religious institutions, where we learn of our just and loving Creator and of the commandments that He has set before us. Recognizing that “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” members of the worldwide Lubavitch movement, under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, have worked to promote greater knowledge of Divine law, including the Biblical in junction to assist those who are needy.
Like the Psalmist who wrote. 106 STAT. 5247 “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” the individual who possesses such knowledge is well-equipped for a safe and fruitful passage on his or her life’s journey. In recognition of the Lubavitch movement and in honor of the 90th birthday of its leader, Rabbi Schneerson, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 410, has designated April 14, 1992, as “Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.” and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 14, 1992, as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A. I invite all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth. GEORGE BUSH 6422 April 14, 1992 Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1992 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 6422 of April 14, 1992 Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1992 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This year, the peoples of the Americas are deeply mindful of our common heritage as we celebrate Christopher Columbus’s historic journeys to this region half a millennium ago.
Yet today we celebrate not only the great meeting of cultures that was initiated by Columbus and his crew but also our shared commitment to democratic ideals and to the advancement of human freedom and progress throughout the Western Hemisphere. Those shared aspirations and values form the basis of the unique international alliance that we celebrate each year during Pan American Day and Pan American Week. The Inter-American System dates back to 1890, with the establishment of the International Union of American Republics—later known as the Pan American Union.
Our present commitment to inter-American solidarity and freedom is embodied by that institution’s successor, the Organization of American States. Recognizing that “the historic mission of America is to offer man a land of liberty, and a favorable environment for . . . the realization of his just aspirations,” signatories to the OAS Charter agreed to work together to strengthen the peace and security of the American states, to prevent possible causes of difficulties among them and to facilitate the peaceful settlement of disputes, and to promote, through cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development.
Signatories to the OAS Charter also declared that: . . . the true significance of American solidarity and good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation on this continent, within the framework of democratic institutions, of a system of individual liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man. 106 STAT. 5248 After a century of partnership, we know that any real and lasting progress within the Inter-American System has gone hand in hand with our commitment to this ideal.
The United States firmly believes in the value of the Inter-American System as a force for promoting peace and stability in the region. In recent years, the Organization of American States has proved to be an effective vehicle not only for the settlement of disputes but also for the promotion of representative government and human rights. With the principal exception of Castro’s Cuba, we have come close to achieving the world’s first completely democratic hemisphere. Today the OAS is playing a key role in efforts to restore democracy in Haiti and Peru.
As part of their expressed commitment to democratic ideals, members of the OAS have recognized that all human beings have the right “to attain material well-being and spiritual growth under circumstances of liberty, dignity, equality of opportunity, and economic security.” Accordingly, the United States and its friends and neighbors have also been working together to promote investment and free and fair trade in the region, to alleviate the problem of official debt, and to encourage protection of the environment.
These goals form the heart of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, which recently took another step forward with the establishment of the Multilateral Investment Fund. This new fund will provide targeted support for Latin American countries as they transform lumbering state-run industries into efficient private enterprises. Because the security and well-being of our peoples—and the stability of entire governments—also depend on our success in the fight against drugs, we remain committed to achieving the goals of the 1990 Cartagena Declaration, which laid the foundation for the development of a comprehensive, multilateral anti-drug strategy.
At our recent summit in San Antonio, the United States and six of our Latin American neighbors agreed to move beyond the achievements of Cartagena and to strengthen interdiction, alternative development, and demand reduction efforts. In these and other endeavors, we are heartened by the prospect of extending human freedom and progress throughout the hemisphere—from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Puerto Williams, Chile, and to every point in between. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, April 14, 1992, as Pan American Day and the week of April 12 through April 18, 1992, as Pan American Week.
I urge the Governors of the fifty States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other areas under the flag of the United States, to honor these observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth. GEORGE BUSH 6423 April 24, 1992 National Farm Safety Week, 1992 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation