J.C. Watts: “there is no joy sometimes in upholding the law. It is so unpleasant sometimes that we hire other people to do it for us.…”

“there is no joy sometimes in upholding the law. It is so unpleasant sometimes that we hire other people to do it for us. Ask the police or judges. It is tiring and thankless. But we know it must be done, because if we do not point at lawlessness, our children cannot see it. If we do not label lawlessness, our children cannot recognize it. And if we do not punish lawlessness, our children will not believe it. So if someone were to ask me, ``J.C., why did you vote for the articles of impeachment?'' I would say I did it for our children. How can we tell our children that honesty is the best policy if we do not demand honesty as a policy? How can we expect a Boy Scout to honor his oath if elected officials do not honor theirs? How can we expect a business executive to honor a promise when the chief executive abandons his or hers? Whether it is a promise or a truth or a vow or an oath, a person's word is the firm footing our society stands upon, and the average kid understands that. They do not need a grand jury to enforce it. They say ``cross your heart, hope to die''; ``pinkie promise''; ``king's X''; ``blood brother.'' These are the childhood instincts that seek to draw a line between the honest and the dishonest, between the principled and the unprincipled. Ask the children. The kid who lies does not last and they do not bicker over what is and what is not a lie. They know. So do I. So do the American people.…”