Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2001

Proclamation 7417 of March 22, 2001

Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With the dawn of a new century, America's youth face a
world of nearly unlimited possibilities. New advances
in technology, medicine, and science offer the
potential for great progress. We must ensure that every
child has the technical skills needed to pursue success
in their respective fields. However, they also require
the wisdom and understanding to make sense of an ever-
changing world.

As teachers, parents, and citizens, we have a
responsibility to pass on more than just academic
knowledge to our children. We also need to provide them
with the moral strength to see them through turbulent
and challenging times. An education that nurtures
goodness and kindness gives direction and dignity to
the lives of our young people and strengthens our
communities. Humanity has long recognized such core and
never-changing ethical values as vital to the well-
being of a society and its citizenry.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher
Rebbe, clearly understood the importance of fostering
character. His establishment of educational, social,
and rehabilitative institutions bettered the lives of
people both in this country and abroad. As he once
said, ``All educational efforts are basically
meaningless unless built on the solid foundation of
good character.'' Next year marks the 100th anniversary
of the Rebbe's birth, but his legacy of teaching that a
nation's true greatness is measured by whether it
produces citizens of compassion and character remains
timeless.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 4, 2001, as Education
and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2001. By teaching children the
highest standards of ethical behavior, Americans
prepare our next generation of leaders to pursue
meaningful lives as members of a decent and caring
society.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand one, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

(Presidential Sig.)B