[Pages S10245-S10246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING A COLUMBINE HERO, BOY SCOUT EVAN TODD

<bullet> Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today to share with my
colleagues a pair of statements I recently received from an exceptional
young man in Colorado, Mr. Evan Todd of Littleton. Evan was one of the
many unfortunate victims of the horrific shooting that took place at
Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Evan was the first student
shot in the library at Columbine High School, and despite his injuries
he assisted other students and administered first aid to a seriously
wounded peer until emergency services could arrive. Evan, an active Boy
Scout, was awarded the prestigious Boy Scouts of America Honor Medal
for his inspiring actions. Still a Columbine student, Evan has
dedicated a tremendous amount of time to speaking to other students and
adults around the nation concerning the problems of youth violence and
the cultural influences on American youth. I am honored that Evan took
the time to write to me and I ask that a copy of Evan Todd's letter to
his fellow Scouts and a copy of a speech he delivered at ``The
Gathering,'' a meeting of victims of school violence, be printed in the
Record.
Littleton, CO.
Dear Fellow Scouts: I have been told that into each life
some rain must fall. Some get rained on more than others. The
rain that came down on us at Columbine High School was a
cloudburst of epic proportions. This act was senseless,
tragic and without justification, whatsoever. 13 murdered 25
wounded and 1,951 students youth destroyed. As a student who
was shot and wounded in the library, it has changed my life,
forever.
I believe that the children of a society are nothing more
than the reflection of the society that they are brought
into. The event here at Columbine in Littleton Colorado, and
the events at Moses Lake Washington, Pearl Mississippi,
Jonesboro Arkansas, Edinboro Pennsylvania, Fayetteville
Tennessee, Springfield Oregon, Richmond Virginia, Conyers
Georgia, Los Angeles California and elsewhere indicate to me
that our nation has a serious character flaw. Since the
Columbine tragedy, I have tried to stay abreast of the
``adult society'' debate as to the ``why'' and ``how'' of
these terrible incidents. The adults debate and argue over
what constitutes good and what constitutes evil; what is
right and what is wrong. At the time of the Columbine
tragedy, our national leader, the President, stated the youth
of this nation need to learn to resolve our differences with
words, not weapons. At the time this statement was made, we
as a nation, were bombing Yugoslavia. They tell us that the
youth of this nation need to be more tolerant, kinder,
gentler, more understanding. Yet our entertainment, music,
TV, movies, games (and actions of) the adult world provides
for our consumption are all too often filled with violence,
sex, death and destruction. If we were to take into our lives
what is provided to us by our society, our actions would also
violate the Scout Oath & Law. Other solutions to school
violence have been nametags to be carried around our neck as
millstones, metal detectors, increased video surveillance,
etc. Our nation has always had guns. Our nation has always
had children. What our nation hasn't always had is children
murdering children and their parents, and parents murdering
their children. The ingregient that has made America
different is the last couple of `adult generations', and
their changes towards what is right & wrong, good & evil. It
appears to me that our society is confused. The adult world
seems as a ship with no rudder being cast around by the wind
and storms of our times, with no control or understanding as
to why. Many of these storms appear to have been caused by
their own accord. It's as if our adult society has no
compass, no bearing, no standards for our society. I have
found them confused. Even at our age, we can discern the
difference between what you say and what you do . . .
In regard to the solution of watching what comes out of us
by monitoring closely our world with surveillance cameras,
what we say, how we look, etc., our society needs to watch
carefully what goes into us. In my room is a picture of the
Grand Teton mountain range in Wyoming. Below the picture is
the following:

The Essence Of Destiny

``Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your
words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for
they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become
your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your
destiny.''
The good news for those of us that are Scouts is that we
are privileged to be a part of an organization that provides
us the tools and instructions to put into us that which
builds a better person, a better nation. Those tools are
called the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Robert Gates, former
Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and
our current President of the National Eagle Scout Association
(NESA) recently stated that there is a war going on for the
souls of our boys and young men in this nation. He sees
clearly. If you are to be a scout, don't be a scout in word
only. Learn and practice the Oath & Law in everything you
think, say and do. I understand well how hard that can be,
but ``Do Your Best.'' To the Boy Scouts of America, thank you
for defending our 90-year record and not allowing the Oath &
Law to be redefined. As you say, it has stood the test of
time. The generation that wants to change the Oath & Law has
not stood the test of time. To all the scouts across America
that sent me & my troop cards, letters, posters, your
thoughts and prayers, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To you here tonight, I bid you vaya con Dios mi amigos, God
Bless you and God Bless the work you do.
Thank You.
Evan Todd,

Eagle Scout Troop 989.<bullet>
____

Remarks by Evan Todd at ``The Gathering''

I have been told that into each life some rain must fall.
Some get rained on more than others. The rain that came down
on us at Columbine and at Moses Lake Washington, Pearl
Mississippi, Jonesboro Arkansas, Edinboro Pennsylvania,
Fayetteville Tennessee, Springfield Oregon, Richmond
Virginia, Conyers Georgia, Los Angeles California and
elsewhere were cloudbursts of epic proportions. All of these
acts were senseless, tragic and without justification,
whatsoever. As a student who was shot and wounded in the
library at Columbine, who was literally trapped while 10 of
my classmates were murdered, 4 of them my friends and 16 more
of us were wounded, crippled, disfigured and paralyzed, it
has changed my life, forever.
I believe that the children of a society are nothing more
than the reflection of the society that they are brought
into. These events indicate to me that America has a serious

[[Page S10246]]

character flaw. Since the Columbine tragedy, I have tried to
stay abreast of the ``adult society'' debate as to the
``why'' of these terrible incidents. The adults debate and
argue over what constitutes good, . . . and what constitutes
evil; what is right and what is wrong. Our nation has always
had guns. Our nation has always had children. I believe what
our nation hasn't had--is children murdering children--and
their parents, . . . and parents murdering their children.
The ingredient that has made American different is the last
couple of ``adult generations'' of Americans, and their
changes towards what is right & wrong, good & evil. Is God
now sending forth demons to America in the form of its
children, or have the demons occupied our adult society, by
invitation? How are we as kids treated differently than the
kids before us? As a generation, we are unique. We have been
slaughtered on our way into this world, we are murdered as we
live and try to grow in this world, and we are molested,
assaulted, sexualized and drugged. The adult society has
responded by creating entire new industries and professions
to repair their damage to us. Even as I speak to you our
adult society is setting the stage to murder us when we
become old. We are even taught that we evolved from slime.
(An interesting item that the public is not fully aware of is
that the two cold-blooded murderers in Littleton used the
theory of evolution as their foundation, ``Survival Of The
Fittest.'' You've all heard of their uniforms, the black
trenchcoats, but the real uniform that day was the T-shirt
Eric Harris had on that said ``NATURAL SELECTION'' Has our
adult society banned that?) It appears to me that we have
willingly become a culture of death and violence. Some adults
blame the jocks like me, the cheerleaders and others, . . .
even the trenchcoats, . . . and some even say if our country
only offered 9 round ammo clips instead of 10 or more, things
would be better.
At the time of the Columbine tragedy, our national leader,
the President, stated the youth of this nation need to learn
to resolve our differences with words, not weapons. At the
time this statement was made, we as a nation, were bombing
Yugoslavia. They tell us that the youth of this nation need
to be more tolerant, kinder, gentler, more understanding. Yet
our entertainment, music, TV, movies, games (and actions of)
the adult world provides for our consumption are all too
often filled with violence, sex, death and destruction. If I
were to take into my life what is provided to me by society,
my actions too would violate the Heavenly & Moral Laws my
family have taught me. Other solutions to school violence
have been nametags to be carried around our neck as
millstones, metal detectors, increased video surveillance,
etc. It appears to me that our society is confused. The adult
world seems as a ship with no rudder being cast around by the
wind and storms of our times, with no control or
understanding as to why. Many of these storms appear to have
been caused by their own accord. It's as if our adult society
has no compass, no bearing, no standards for our society.
Even at our age, we can discern the difference between what
you say and what you do. . . .
In regard to the solution of watching what comes out of us
by monitoring closely our world with surveillance cameras,
what we say, how we look, etc., our society needs to watch
carefully what goes into us. In my bedroom is a picture of
the Grand Teton mountain range in Wyoming. Below the picture
is the following:

The Essence of Destiny

``Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your
words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for
they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become
your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your
destiny.''
Even before Columbine, my father told me that when a
society opens the gates of hell for the pursuit of its'
happiness, for its' pleasures and for its' economy, the devil
will come out and have his dance with us. We here today were
the unfortunate ones who had to dance.
I believe I have found the problem within America. Each and
every citizen can too. All they have to do is look into the
mirror every day to find the demon. They can also find the
solution in that same mirror. Ask yourself daily, ``what am I
thinking, saying and doing in my life to call out the demons
on the youth of my nation?'' In the final analysis, a nation
is judged on how it treats its' young and its' old. Until we
return to respecting life as sacred, prepare yourself for
more dances, more heartbreak, more death, and more
destruction. It also would be wise to look into the future of
America. It's not that hard. The character a nation instills
into its youth today, will be the destiny of our nation
tomorrow.<bullet>

____________________