Proclamation 7152—National Family Week, 1998

Of all the blessings that Americans enjoy, our families are perhaps the most precious. It is within the family that we first gain an understanding of who we are and learn to respect the individuality of others. It is to our families that we turn for the unconditional love, acceptance, comfort, and support we need. And it is our families who teach us how to give that love and support to others, helping us to grow into strong, caring adults who can contribute to the well-being of our communities and our world.

In the broad and diverse America of today, families take many different forms, but they all share a need for security and stability. If we are to maintain strong families as the cornerstone of our society and our hope for the future, it is our responsibility as individuals to strengthen and protect our own families—and it is our responsibility as Americans to reach out with compassion to help other families in need.

My Administration has worked hard to help provide America's families with the tools they need to thrive. Our economic polices have brought dignity, security, and opportunity to millions of families by creating new jobs and reducing unemployment.

The most important work, however, is always done in the hearts and homes of individuals. During this week, I encourage all Americans to reflect upon the many blessings of family life and to join in our national effort to promote strong, loving families across our country. By strengthening and supporting the American family, we are ensuring that the future will be bright for our children, our Nation, and the world.

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 the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 22 through November 28, 1998, as National Family Week. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to honor American families with appropriate programs and activities. I encourage educators, community organizations, and religious leaders to celebrate the strength and values we draw from family relationships, and I urge all the people of the United States to reaffirm their own family ties and to reach out to other families in friendship and goodwill.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON