Former Congressman Visits Holy Innocents' Lower School

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A former United States congressman came to Sandy Springs on Thursday to speak to Holy Innocents' Lower School students.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Richard "Dick" Gephardt of Missouri spoke to the students about the importance of peacemaking in a world in which conflicts are sure to arise, whether in school, in Congress or just in our daily lives.

Gephardt, whose two grandsons -- Ernest and Truman -- attend HIES Lower School, gave his speech as part of National Bullying Prevention Month.

“What can we do to be peacemakers?” Gephardt, asked attentive Lower School students, faculty and staff during the morning service. “My mother would look me in the eye and say, ‘You’re going to get back what you give out.'

“So before you say anything to anybody, think how you would like that said or done to you,” Gephardt said. “Many times what you say will come back to you.”

Lower School Chaplain Timothy Seamans asked if Gephardt had ever been bullied, and the man who once ran for president of the United States recalled times in his childhood when he had experienced such hateful intimidation.

“I wanted to be good at sports but wasn’t very good, and sometimes the kids who were good would say bad things to you if you messed up," he added. "When they lashed out at me, I wanted to hurt them back, but in my head were the words of my mother. So I tried to defuse the situation.

“Remember that it’s OK when these things happen because everyone has their own strengths, their own gifts.”

Gephardt then made reference to the world of politics, in which people can be really disagreeable, as he described it. What do you do when you disagree with someone? Be humble, listen and find a way to solve the problem, he advised.

“I always wanted to understand what somebody else believed," he stated. "I haven’t walked in your shoes, experienced what you experienced. So I’ve got to listen to learn from you.

“In politics, we’re talking about issues people feel strongly about. If you disagree with me, it’s easy to transfer that disagreement to dislike. Then it can escalate.

“Find a way to come to an agreement you can both live with to solve the problem. That’s what we did day in an day out in Congress.”

Gephardt served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. He served as house majority leader for the Democrats between 1989 to 1995 and the party's minority leader from 1995 to 2003.

He currently serves as CEO of the Gephardt Group, a privately held labor relations consulting and government affairs firm.

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Photo 1: Gephardt speaks to Holy Innocents' Lower School students.
Photo 2: Gephardt with wife, Jane, and grandsons Ernest (front row, left) and Truman.
Credits: Holy Innocents'