George W. Bush’s “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance” Speech 19
This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a
time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die,
and all who mourn.
It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves. This is true of a nation as well. In this
trial, we have been reminded, and the world has seen, that our fellow Americans are generous
and kind, resourceful and brave. We see our national character in rescuers working past
exhaustion; in long lines of blood donors; in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and
serve in any way possible.
And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World
Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end at the side of his
quadriplegic friend. A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter. Two office
workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down sixty-eight floors to safety. A group of
men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burn victims.
In these acts, and in many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another,
and an abiding love for our country. Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called the warm
courage of national unity. This is a unity of every faith, and every background.
It has joined together political parties in both houses of Congress. It is evident in services
of prayer and candlelight vigils, and American flags, which are displayed in pride, and wave in
defiance.
Our unity is a kinship of grief, and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our
enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.
America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for. But we are not
spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human
freedom. They have attacked America, because we are freedom’s home and defender. And the
commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our
nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and
console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and
the promise of a life to come.
As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor
powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from
God’s love.
May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always
guide our country.
God bless America.
END 1:07 P.M. EDT
Convention