Proclamation 4444—National Good Neighbor Day, 1976

Our Nation's struggle for independence succeeded because the people of thirteen colonies set aside their separate interests and united for a common purpose. Over the years, our Nation expanded because our pioneer ancestors, though independent and self-reliant, recognized the need to work together and to extend a helping hand.

This Bicentennial Year is an appropriate time to emphasize that only by accepting our individual responsibility to be good neighbors can we survive as a strong, united Nation. By recognizing our dependence on each other, we preserve our independence as a people.

As we teach our children the cherished ideal of government by and for the people, let us begin by teaching them to know and care about the people next door. We must not only help each other, we must be willing to learn from each other so that we may remain forever united. Each individual American must make his or her own special effort to be a good neighbor.

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the fourth Sunday in September, the 26th of September, 1976 as National Good Neighbor Day.

I call upon every American man, woman, and child to be a good neighbor to those around them. I urge schools, churches, civic and community groups to engage in activities that will remind, encourage, and help each of us to be a good neighbor. And I call upon governors and mayors to urge their citizens to renew the good neighbor spirit.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundredth.

GERALD R. FORD