78R19197 MDM-F

By:  Garza                                                      H.C.R. No. 276



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, In 1986, as Texas entered a difficult economic 
period, Speaker Gib Lewis gave each member of the legislature a copy 
of a book, The New Legacy, with a letter indicating that it was a 
book that not only defined Texas values but gave an insight and a 
vision as to the future of Texas as it evolved from the difficult 
times it faced; and
	WHEREAS, The legislature again faces not only difficult 
economic times but significant questions as to how it will evolve a 
culture and a process to solve these issues in the future; and
	WHEREAS, Another book, The Language of Conscience, addresses 
with the same insight the most difficult issues of modern times, 
provides decision systems based on conscience versus convenience, 
and provides a thoughtful alternative to partisanship alone; and
	WHEREAS, The Language of Conscience is based on a premise 
that character and individual responsibility are the core of a 
Texas value system that must be preserved and that the choice of 
conscience over convenience as a value decision will best serve the 
state but will only exist in an institutional culture that promotes 
it; and
	WHEREAS, The book's core belief is that conscience operates 
best on an individual level but that convenience inevitably 
occupies the realms of power; thus, the only way to move conscience 
into the realms of power is to make it convenient by affecting the 
culture and its support of conscience as a fundamental value of an 
institution; and
	WHEREAS, The legacy of our 78th Texas Legislative Session 
will be defined in history not just by what we do or how well we do 
it, but also by the purposes for which it is done; let us indicate 
that, though we may disagree with each other, we will strive to have 
these disagreements be based on conscience rather than on political 
and personal convenience, and let us endeavor to build a framework 
that maintains the value-based system of the Texas culture so that 
we may work more closely together in the future; though conscience 
based on our constituents' needs will inevitably make us disagree 
on issues, the manner in which we disagree and our ultimate purpose 
should set the culture of this institution; this book is an 
enlightenment of the options from which we can individually choose; 
now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby commend Tieman H. Dippel, Jr., the author of The New Legacy
and The Language of Conscience, for the lifelong efforts that he has 
made to advance Texas and to defend its value-based culture and the 
principles of conscience, God, family, and service to others; and, 
be it further
	RESOLVED, That former U.S. Representatives Bill Archer and 
Jake Pickle, the Ethics Officers Association, and the other 
contributors to The Language of Conscience also be commended for 
their insights that develop a perspective for these issues; and, be 
it further
	RESOLVED, That Tieman "Skipper" Dippel be proclaimed the 
"Texas Prophet on Conscience" for the guidance he has provided 
throughout his life, and particularly for his works The New Legacy
and The Language of Conscience, and that these books be recommended 
to those who are united by Texas values, the concept of conscience, 
and the effort to bring out the best of man.