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  1996 Democratic National Convention Speech - Tipper Gore
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ContributorThe Sunset Provision 
Post Date ,  12:am
Description Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow Democrats, fellow Americans. Tonight, I would like to talk with you about a civil society. The kind of society I want my four children to live in. The kind of society you and I are working to build.

A civil society is built by the smallest, simplest gestures. Things we do every day without thinking twice. Seventy-six years ago, Mrs. Burn from East Tennessee did such a thing. Women's suffrage had come down to one vote - her son Harry, a 24-year-old Tennessee state representative, was expected to vote no.

But then, Mrs. Burn wrote a letter. It said, "Be a good boy, Harry, and do the right thing." He switched from no to yes. And that's how the 19th Amendment was ratified to give women the right to vote.

So to Mrs. Burn and all Americans who teach their children to do the right thing - thank you. You are the cornerstones of a civil society. The pillars of strong communities. The models of personal responsibility. And the bridge-builders to a brighter future.

You will find no better champions than President Clinton and my husband, Al Gore. Because they are working to give you better tools to raise your children. And create a more civil society. As you know.

I began a difficult fight long before it became fashionable, to give parents the tools to protect their children from violence, obscenity and degradation of women. We won voluntary labeling of records and CDs. And today, parents have a more powerful tool to ensure that their values will not be undermined.

Then, the battle was over music. But now, thanks to President Clinton and Vice President Gore, parents will have even more powerful tools: the V-chip that gives the TV controls back to families. Voluntary ratings. And three hours of children's educational programming a week on the networks. That's one way in which President Clinton and Vice President Gore are shifting the balance of power back to America's families.
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