Unite America

Floor Speech

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Madam Speaker, some history from our country.

Yesterday was June 25. On June 25, 1788, the State of Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution and thereby became the 10th State of the United States. Virginia willingly joined the Union. Virginia willingly left the Union and then willingly eventually rejoined the Union, a reminder from our past. Do we take down everything about Virginia? Certainly not.

Madam Speaker, on June 25, 1868, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union. Again, they had willingly joined the Union; they willingly left the Union; and, yes, they willingly rejoined that same Union. Reminders from the past. Do we do away with all reminders?

On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation for public facilities as long as they were separate but equal. In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of unofficial nondenominational prayer in public schools was unconstitutional. They got it wrong twice, just two examples. Do we do away with any mention of the Supreme Court?

Madam Speaker, in 1973, June 25, again, yesterday, John Dean, White House Counsel for President Richard Nixon, admitted that President Nixon was involved in the coverup. Do we do away with all mention of President Nixon?

Madam Speaker, how about President Bill Clinton, who was accused of several sexual harassments and was found guilty of lying under oath and, as I recall, tampering with a witness or obstruction of justice? Are all mentions of President Clinton gone? No, not him, not Nixon. They were Presidents of this United States.

Madam Speaker, in 1999, on June 25, Germany's Parliament approved a national Holocaust memorial to be built in Berlin, a painful but necessary reminder from the past.

And we could go on. We could talk about professional entertainers-- and I use the word ``professional'' loosely--who have been accused. And the list is Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and on down. You go right down that list. Do we demand any and all of their works, their mentions, their movies, their shows be blotted out from memory?

We could talk about professional athletes--and again, I use the word ``professional'' loosely--who have been accused of sexual assault, beating their wives up, their girlfriends up, caught with drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, gambling, cheating. Do we blot them out from all memory and all mentions? No.

Madam Speaker, even churches--the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodists, other churches, other denominations--scandals, military sex scandals, Boy Scouts, congressional sex scandals, every occupation, every race, color, creed, and religion, none is perfect. Where does it end?

Should we pull down and attempt to erase all mentions of countries like Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China? The list is endless.

Madam Speaker, George Floyd had a criminal record, but he did not deserve execution at the hands of an errant police officer. And then again, those whose lives and/or their livelihoods are being destroyed by vandals, looters, and rioters don't deserve to have their families and their livelihoods and their lives ruined either.

It is time for the violence to stop. Peaceful protests, yes; violence, no. The Governors and the President should send in troops when requested and needed. I stand with the President in that.

These criminals and lawbreakers deserve to be dealt with in a manner consistent with their behavior and the law. They are pulling down statues that were paid for with tax dollars, erected with the consent of the governed, no matter what community or timeframe. These thugs simply think they can tear them down.

Do we acknowledge there are those who have an improper mindset? Of course. Those are thugs tearing things down. Of course we do.

Do we also acknowledge that Black lives matter? You bet we do. I cannot even begin to understand the fear of parents and their children who live in that fear that some day they may suffer that same fate.

But let's have that conversation within the framework of a civilized people who earnestly desire what President Lincoln called ``a more perfect Union.''

Violence, property destruction, vandalism, arson, looting, and, yes, killing others is hardly what I think we would want or call a more perfect Union, Madam Speaker.

So how about a new reset? Looking backwards will only leave us hating everyone and everything. Statues and symbols of our great country should remind us how far we have come, but, more importantly, how far we have got to go still.

We should be taking pride in how far we have come. Actually, let us hope in the promises of where we can go, while being saddened as to some of the things that have had to happen to get us to this point.

Madam Speaker, how about a reset?

George Orwell once said:

The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.

Madam Speaker, as we reassess our shared experience, let us learn from the past in order to make a better, brighter future. America's history is imperfect. But projecting contemporary norms through violence while rejecting the experiences of our past does a disservice to the sacrifices of the great men and women like President Lincoln, who fought for equality for all.

We must not erase our history. We must learn from it. This is one of the promises and the highest callings of America the beautiful.

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