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Senator Frist Floor Statement on Father's Day
Floor Statement -- Remarks As Prepared For Delivery
June 17, 2005 - I want to take a few moments to reflect on an important holiday coming up this weekend – Father’s Day.
On Sunday, families across America will celebrate their dads with lunches and dinners, homemade gifts, and, if my family is typical, some gentle teasing. It’s a day we show our gratitude, and we remember how important our dads are in our lives.
I was very close to my father, and I cherish my memories of him.
When I lived in Nashville, I used to drive by my parents’ house everyday on my way to work. And everyday, no matter where I was, I would call to touch base and say hello.
My father was a man of extraordinary kindness and generosity. He was known throughout the community for his good works.
Before he died, he wrote a letter to his grandchildren, passing on his humble wisdom collected over a lifetime. In it, he told them:
“Be happy in your family life. Your family is the most important thing you can ever have. Love your wife or your husband. Tell your children how great they are. Encourage them in everything they do.
“Be happy in your community. Charity is so important. There’s so much good to do in the world and so many different ways to do it.”
He also wrote that, “I believe that life is made up of peaks and valleys. But the thing to remember is that the curve is always going up. The next peak is a little higher than the previous peak, the next valley isn’t quote so low.
“The world is always changing, and that’s a good thing. It’s how you carry yourself in the world that doesn’t change – morality, integrity, warmth, and kindness are the same things in 19190 when I was born, or in 2010 or later when you will be reading this. And that’s a good thing, too.”
I’ve worked hard to live up to his high ideals and the sterling example he set before us. And I’ve worked hard to instill these values in my own sons. If I’ve half succeeded, that’s a very good thing.
As we celebrate our fathers this weekend, I also encourage everyone to reflect on the importance of fathers to the social fabric.
The National Fatherhood Initiative, a non-profit devoted to promoting responsible fatherhood, reports that today’s fathers are more present in their children’s lives than ever. Dads in two-parent families spend more time with their children than the previous generation of dads. Research also indicates that today’s fathers are more active and more nurturing.
And it has a big impact.
Children with involved, loving fathers – as compared to children without – are more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, show empathy, and avoid drug use, truancy, and criminal activity. The bottom line is kids do better when their dads are around. For a while America forgot just how important dads are, but now we know in our heads what we have always known in our hearts.
So, this Father’s Day, we salute them. Dads on the front line who risk their lives for our freedom. Dads on the home front who go to work everyday to support their families. America honors you as everyday you honor us.
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