National Character Counts Week, 1996

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Part IX

The President

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Proclamation 6937--National Character Counts Week, 1996

Proclamation 6938--National School Lunch Week, 1996

Proclamation 6939--National Children's Day, 1996

Proclamation 6940--Columbus Day, 1996

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 6937 of October 11, 1996

National Character Counts Week, 1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

One of our most important goals as a Nation is to make
this a better world for all people. Millions around the
globe look to America as a champion of justice, and we
must always strive to encourage the good and denounce
the bad.

This week, as a Nation, we celebrate the fact that
``Character Counts.'' Whether in civic activities or in
our daily lives at work and at home, we all contribute
regularly to our American community and our national
purpose--our sense of who we are as a people. In the
end, the character of our Nation is determined by the
character of our citizens.

During this special week, we recognize that character
is not a quality we are born with; we must learn it.
This means we must ensure that it is taught, clearly
and thoughtfully, to our youth. Individual character
involves honoring and embracing certain core ethical
values: honesty, respect, responsibility, hard work,
fairness, caring, civic virtue, and citizenship.
Americans must do everything possible to create a
society in which these virtues are not only taught but
also acted out in daily life so that our young people
can witness firsthand their value and learn right from
wrong.

My Administration has made this effort a top priority.
Our Improving America's Schools Act promotes
initiatives in character education, just as the Goals
2000: Educate America Act recognizes the crucial role
of the family in nurturing strong values and
encouraging children to embrace academic achievement.
Our AmeriCorps national service program offers young
people a practical means through which to demonstrate
their beliefs in the civic virtues that traditionally
have given our Nation much of its strength of
character.

The family remains, of course, the core source of our
values. Parents must teach their children from the
earliest age, the difference between right and wrong.
But we all must do our part. Teachers, religious
leaders, and other early-childhood role models must
display the highest standards of respect for themselves
and others; young people must commit themselves to
dealing nonviolently with the inevitable problems and
difficulties they will encounter; and both public- and
private-sector institutions must adopt corporate
behavior that encourages individual character
development.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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 October 13 through 19, 1996,
as National Character Counts Week. I call upon the
people of the United States, Government officials,
educators, and volunteers, to observe this week with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and

of the Independence of the United States of America the
two hundred and twenty-first.