May 14, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 80 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REAFFIRMING OUR COMMITMENT TO DECENCY

  (Ms. DEAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DEAN. Mr. Speaker, one rainy afternoon during my campaign last 
year, I was out knocking on doors. I met a man and asked what he cared 
about. He paused as the rain poured down around us, and he uttered a 
single word, ``Decency.''
  Mr. Speaker, over the last several years, we have watched as our 
democracy sinks to new and disturbing lows. We have seen national 
leaders dispense with civility and compassion and replace them with 
cruelty. We have witnessed a debasement of our traditions and a 
devaluation of goodwill.
  But decency, that quiet virtue, has not disappeared. If anything, we 
have mourned its absence because we know that decency is essential for 
any democracy worth wanting. Decency is that basic commitment to treat 
each other charitably, to try understanding each other, and to value 
our common humanity more than our differences.
  This is National Decency Day. Let us reaffirm that commitment to one 
another. Decency should be a starting point of all of our 
conversations. It should carry us through disagreements, even when 
things get contentious. It should guide us through the shoals of our 
biggest challenges, today and every day.

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