Washington, Oct 10, 2002 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), leader of the House opposition to the resolution, gave the following statement on the House floor today during general debate on the war resolution:

More than two millennia ago the world began a shift from the philosophy of an eye for an eye. We were taught a new gospel of compassion, of doing unto others, as you would have them do unto you.

It is that teaching, that faith in compassion that has sustained the human heart and this nation. I believe, as did Washington, and Lincoln, that America has been favored by divine Providence. But what if we lose our connection to our source by an abuse of power?

We are at a dangerous moment in human history when twenty centuries of moral teachings are about to be turned upside down, instead of adherence to the golden rule, we are being moved toward the rule of liquid gold: Do onto others before they do onto you.

No longer are we justified by our faith, we are now justified by our fear. Iraq was not responsible for 911, but some fear it was. There is no proof Iraq worked with Al Queda to cause 911, but some fear it did.

It is fear that leads us to war. It is fear which leads us to believe we must kill or be killed. Fear leads us to attack those who have not attacked us. Fear which leads us to ring our nation and the very heavens with weapons of mass destruction.

The American people need the attention of their government today. People who have worked a lifetime are finding the American Dream slipping away. People who have saved, who have invested wisely, are suffering because of corruption on Wall Street, the failing economy, and the declining stock market. People have lost their homes, lost their jobs, lost their chances for a good education for their children. The American Dream is slipping away and all the people hear from Washington is war talk so loud as to drown out the voices of the American people calling for help.

Seventy years ago Franklin Roosevelt said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself", calling America to a domestic agenda. A New Deal for America. Faith in our country calls us to that again. Faith in our country calls us to work with the world community to create peace through inspections not destruction. Faith in our country calls us to use our talents and abilities to address the urgent concerns of America today. Let us not fear our ability to create a new, more peaceful world through the science of human relations. Faith America. Courage America. Peace America.