Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to David Bloom of NBC News. In the passing of David Bloom, we lost a thoughtful, passionate and courageous journalist. Yet he was more than a journalist, more than a face on NBC News. He was a husband, father, colleague, and a wonderful friend.

I met David Bloom for the first time several years ago. He was someone who was very special and very eager to learn more about the civil rights movement. David Bloom was born in 1963, the same year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his historic ``I Have a Dream'' speech at the March on Washington.

David was 2 years old when thousands of men, women, and children marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

I will never forget the day that David called me. He said, Congressman Lewis, this has nothing to do with business. This is personal.

He was driving from New York to Washington, listening to a tape of me giving an introduction to the speech Dr. King delivered at the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery march. He talked about how the speech touched him personally.

I want to say, Madam Speaker, David Bloom's true greatness was yet to come. He was truly a wonderful, talented, and just smart human being. He had energy and vigor. When he was reporting a story, he did more than talk. He used facial expressions and moved his arm and hands to tell its meaning.

David Bloom made an imprint on our hearts and minds. That will never, ever be forgotten. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife, his three daughters, and the entire NBC News family. He will truly be missed.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad day. I weep for my country tonight. I am sorry, very sorry, that we have arrived at this point.

Tonight I think the world is a much more dangerous place for all humankind.

I want to make it clear that I support all of our young men and women who are in harm's way, and I pray and I pray for their safe return.

But tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want to speak for peace. War is bloody and messy. It destroys the hopes, the dreams, and aspirations of a people. In all good conscience, I cannot and will not vote for a resolution that supports and endorses a failed policy that led us to war. War is never the answer. War is obsolete.

The struggle for peace is as old as the dawn of history and as fresh as the morning dew. The struggle for peace is a struggle that lasts for more than 1 day, 1 week, 1 year, or more than a lifetime. But we must struggle.

Is it possible, is it too much to ask? Maybe it is possible for humankind to evolve to a much higher level and lay down the tools of hate, violence, and war. If we want to create a beloved community, a community that is at peace with itself, if that is our end, if that is our goal, then our way must be one of love, one of nonviolence, one of peace.

Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I ask God's blessing on our soldiers, and may God bless our little planet we call Earth.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak for peace one more time, to speak against a rush to war.

Our courageous sons and daughters have been placed in harm's way, and I will continue to support our young men and our young women, but I cannot in good conscience betray the nonviolent principles on which I have worked all my life. I cannot sit in silence when I believe there is still time. It is late, it is very late, it is midnight, but it is not too late for diplomacy, Mr. Speaker.

War with Iraq will not bring peace to the Middle East. It will not make the world a safer or better place, a more loving place. It will not end the strife and hatred that breeds terror. War does not end strife, it sows it. War does not end hatred, it feeds it. War is bloody, war is vicious, it is evil, and it is messy. War destroys the dreams, the hopes, the aspirations and the longings of a people. I believe that war is obsolete.

As a great Nation and a blessed people, we must heed the words of the spiritual, ``I am going to lay down my burden, down by the riverside. I ain't going to study war no more.''

For those who argue that war is a necessary evil, I say you are half right. War is evil, but it is not necessary. War cannot be a necessary evil, because nonviolence is a necessary good. The two cannot coexist. As Americans, as human beings, as citizens of the world, as moral actors, we must embrace the good and reject the evil.

If we want to create a beloved community, create a beloved world, a world that is at peace with itself, if that is our end, if that is our goal, our means, our way, it must be one of love, one of peace, one of nonviolence.

Gandhi said, ``The choice is nonviolence or nonexistence.''

America's strength is not in its military might, but in our ideas. American ingenuity, freedom and democracy have conquered the world. It is a battle we did not win with guns or tanks or missiles, but with ideas, with principles, this whole idea of justice and freedom and liberty.

We must use our resources not to make bombs and guns, but to solve the problems that affect humankind. We must feed the stomach, clothe the naked body, educate and stimulate the mind. We must use our resources to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words, many years ago, said, ``Take offensive action in behalf of justice to remove the conditions which breed resentment, terror and violence against our great Nation.''

This is the direction in which a great Nation and a proud people should move.

War is easy, but peace, peace is hard. When we hurt, when we fear, when we feel vulnerable or hopeless, it is easy to listen to what is most debase within us. It is easy to divide the words into us and them, to fear them, to hate them, to fight them, to kill them.

War is easy, but peace is hard. Peace is right, it is just and it is true, but it is not easy to love thy enemy. No, peace is hard.

Again, Martin Luther King said when he spoke out against the Vietnam War, he said, ``War is not the answer. Let us not join those who shout war. These are days which demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness.''

He was right then, and the wisdom of those words hold true today. War was not the answer then, and it is not the answer today. It is not the answer in this hour. War is never, never the answer. War is obsolete.

It is my belief, Mr. Speaker, that humankind would rise to a much higher level if we would lay down the tools and instruments of war and violence. It is not too late to stop our rush to war. Let us give peace a chance.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) for his leadership and all his good work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to plead for peace. Every day our great Nation moves ever closer to war with Iraq. I know many Americans believe war is unavoidable. I hope and pray that they are wrong.

It is not an easy thing to disagree with the administration at a time when hundreds of thousands of our brave men and women are poised in the Persian Gulf. I want to make it clear that I will support our troops regardless of what happens, but I cannot, in good conscience, betray the nonviolent principles on which I have worked my whole life. I cannot sit silent when I believe there is still time to use diplomacy and let the inspectors do their job.

While I believe that the hour is late, it is not too late to stop the rush to war. It is not too late to embrace peace. War with Iraq will not bring peace to the Middle East. It will not make the world a safer or better or more loving place. It will not end the strife and hatred that breed terror.

War does not end strife. It sows it. War does not end hatred. It feeds it. War is bloody. It is vicious, it is evil, and it is messy. War destroys the dreams, the hopes, and aspirations of people. I believe, Mr. Speaker, that war is obsolete.

As a great Nation and a blessed people, we must heed the words of the spiritual: ``I am going to lay my burden down, down by the riverside. I ain't gonna study war no more.'' For those who argue that war is a necessary evil, I say you are half right. War is evil. But it is not necessary. War cannot be a necessary evil, because nonviolence is a necessary good. The two cannot coexist. As Americans, as human beings, as citizens of the world, as moral actors, we must embrace the good and reject the evil. To quote Ghandi: ``The choice is nonviolence or nonexistence.''

America's strength is not in its military might, but in our ideas. American ingenuity, freedom, and democracy have conquered the world. It is a battle we did not win with guns or tanks or missiles but with ideas, principles, and justice. We must choose our resources, Mr. Speaker, not to make bombs and guns but to solve the problems that affect all humankind. We must feed the stomach, clothe naked bodies, educate and stimulate the mind. We must use our resources to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. Let us, in Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words, ``take offensive action in behalf of justice to remove the conditions which breed resentment, terror and violence against our great Nation.'' That is a direction in which a great Nation and a proud people should move.

War is easy; but peace, peace is hard. When we hurt, when we fear, when we feel vulnerable or hopeless, it is easy to listen to what is most base within us. It is easy to divide the world into us and them, to fear them, to hate them, to fight them, to kill them. War is easy.

But peace is hard. Peace is right, it is just, and it is true. But it is not easy to love thy enemy. No, peace is hard. As my friend and mentor, Dr. King, said when he spoke about the Vietnam War: ``War is not the answer. Let us not join those who shout war. These are days which demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness.'' He was right then and the wisdom of those words holds true today. War was not the answer then, and it is not the answer today. War is never the answer. It is not too late to stop our rush to war. Let us give peace a chance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to seven brave and courageous souls. The crew of the Columbia space shuttle were men and women of medicine and soldiers who chose science over war. They explored space to heal and not to kill. These astronauts were smart and tough.

In their quest for the stars, they embodied the hopes, the dreams, and the aspirations of all humankind. These seven individuals were determined, dedicated, and committed. In a real sense, they personified the best of humankind.

To honor their memory, we must continue to look beyond our little planet we call Earth. We must continue to soar to the heavens.

The Columbia crew was leading us into the future, and we will continue to follow them. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all humanity.

Today, this day, we mourn with their families, the families in America and in Israel. God bless the families of the astronauts, and God bless our little planet Earth.