Jeff Fortenberry: “I thank Congressman Smith for yielding. First of all, let me acknowledge the gentleman's tireless work on behalf of…”

“I thank Congressman Smith for yielding. First of all, let me acknowledge the gentleman's tireless work on behalf of human rights, justice, and human dignity. The gentleman is authentically the conscience of this Congress, and I am so grateful for his leadership and deep friendship. Mr. Speaker, as you walk down this aisle as I just did, if you will notice this beautiful rostrum in this well where we speak, along the sides of the rostrum here are a couple of words. They express the deepest, noble sentiments of what it means to be an American: union, justice and peace. But there is another word that is often overlooked and it is right here. It says: ``Tolerance.'' We are living in a very interesting age. We are living, in a certain sense, in a divided age. We seem to be struggling with our narrative as a nation, particularly politically. But something beautiful is happening. There is a new momentum among this new generation that is coming up that is wrestling with these deeper questions as to how you build a more just nation; how you include people who have been left out. How do you struggle for peace? How do you find authentic freedom, liberty? Tolerance creates the space for protection of that sacred space of conscience, of deliberation that we have in this body that is built upon a fundamental foundation of life: the protection of the ideals of life.…”