Rely on Yourself, Not Government, Deukmejian Says

SACRAMENTO — Gov. George Deukmejian, using the occasion of his annual prayer breakfast, on Thursday preached that self-reliance, not government spending, is the ultimate solution to problems of education, drug abuse and economic development.

Offering the audience a glimpse of the philosophy that guides his Administration, the Republican governor said self-reliance is “a quality we must continue to nurture in ourselves and our children, because from self-reliance springs our strength, our creativity and our passionate commitment to dignity and excellence.”

More than 1,500 people gathered for the 29th Governor’s Prayer Breakfast to hear speeches by Deukmejian and former hostage David P. Jacobsen, who was freed by terrorists in Lebanon last November.

Jacobsen recalled that during his 18 months of captivity with four other American hostages, he was often chained to the floor and blindfolded, and deprived of every freedom except the ability to think and pray.

International Prayer Petition

Now, Jacobsen said, he is helping to organize an international prayer petition to put pressure on Lebanese terrorist groups to release the remaining hostages they have kidnaped.

Jacobsen’s ability to survive in captivity, Deukmejian said, “taught us that human potential and endurance are virtually unlimited when you reach deep within yourself and you call on your faith and your strength as an individual.”

Deukmejian invoked the same attitude as a means of dealing with pressing problems facing California, including improving the educational system, combating drug abuse and improving the state’s economy.

Stresses Strong Character

Under intense pressure from Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction, and the education community to devote more of the state’s resources next year to education, Deukmejian said: “We can spend all the money in the world on our schools, but if we fail to instill in our children a deep, personal desire to learn, then they will not receive a good education.”

The governor also said: “We can spend great resources to fight drug abuse, but if children aren’t led to discover the solid core of strength, character and self-respect, then we will not succeed in steering them away from these poisons.

“We can talk about competing in the global economy through new aggressive economic policies,” he continued, “but if individual workers and executives fail to take deep personal pride in their work, then we will surely fail to meet the competitive challenge.

“America derives her strength as a nation from the strength of self-reliant individuals.”