For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 21, 2002
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As families across the nation gather
to celebrate Christmas, Laura and I want to extend our best wishes for
the holidays. We hope that this Christmas will be a time of happiness
in your home, and a time of peace in the world.
In this season, we celebrate with our families and deeply miss love
ones who are no longer with us. Thousands of families in our nation
are still grieving over the terrible losses that came to them last year
on September the 11th. We have not forgotten their loss and we
continue to pray for their comfort.
The Christmas season brings a deeper concern for fellow citizens in
need. Our country is prosperous, yet we must also remember there are
pockets of despair in America. Some men and women are facing the
struggles of illness and old age with no one to help them or pray with
them. Other Americans fight against terrible addictions. Some young
men have no family but a gang. Some teenage moms are abandoned and
alone. And some children wonder if anybody loves them.
We all share a responsibility to help, both through our government
and through individual acts of compassion. In this season of giving, I
hope all Americans will look for opportunities to donate and volunteer
where the need is greatest. By reaching out to a neighbor in need, we
make our country a more just and generous place.
Our entire nation is also thinking at this time of year of the men
and women in the military, many of whom will spend Christmas at posts
and bases far from home. They stand between Americans and grave
danger. They serve in the cause of peace and freedom. They wear the
uniform proudly, and we are so proud of them.
I have met with these idealistic young men and women across America
and around the world. I know the sacrifices they make. And in every
place they serve, they can know that they have the love of their
families and the gratitude of their nation.
At this time of year, we appreciate all the blessings that fill our
lives, especially the great blessing that came on a holy night in
Bethlehem. The Christmas story speaks to every generation. It is the
story of a quiet birth in a little town on the margins of an
indifferent empire. Yet that single event set the direction of history
and still changes millions of lives.
For over two millennia, Christmas has carried the message that God
is with us, and because he is with us we can always live in hope. The
world we live in is very different from the world of ancient
Bethlehem. Our need for that hope is still unchanged. In all the
challenges and dangers of our day, we still seek the promise of peace
on Earth.
Thank you for listening and merry Christmas.
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