Statement on the
Observance of Labor Day
It
is with great pleasure that I join all Americans in celebrating Labor Day,
1987. Each year, at summer's end, we pause to honor working men and women.
Their labor, resourcefulness, and devotion to family and country have forged
the freest, most prosperous nation the world has ever known. Their trades and
occupations are countless, but with all their diversity they are one in
commitment to the ideals of democracy and to the dream of a better life for
themselves and for their children. In the pursuit of that American dream, every
generation has proven anew the dignity of work and of working people.
Labor
Day provides all of us with an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of work
not simply as an economic necessity but as an expression of deeper human
qualities. We can be truly grateful that God has blessed our nation with an
abundance which has permitted us to produce a vast quantity of goods for people
around the world. But we must always remember that of all of our resources none
is more valuable or important than the American worker. We rejoice in the fact
that more of our citizens are working than ever before and that we continue to
be a land of hope, energy, and opportunity.
On
this occasion, let us also remember the freedoms and the sacrifices that have
made our abundance possible. We are heirs to a precious legacy, one that has
taken centuries to build, and we must forever recognize that its preservation
and increase are our glad task and solemn responsibility.