WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER...
Winston Churchill said those words in a very trying time, when it
seemed like no clear skies were in sight...
Now my friends in the south are plagued by a cloud of darkness, a
wave of terror and fear. And to them, I echo Churchill's words.
Terrorism's goal is to disrupt life and order. It has as its goal
to make everyone want to hide away in their houses, under their beds.
To fill the heart and mind with despair. To shut down the human capacity to HOPE.
To DREAM. To LIVE.
But we can't let them win. We CAN'T SURRENDER our freedom of spirit.
So to all of you I say this: DON'T hide from this. DON'T despair, and
DON'T give in to hate or irrational thoughts of vengeance. We have to
stay STRONG in the shadow of this terrible event. We OURSELVES have to be
the beacons of LIGHT that will lead us out of this darkness, and that
MUST lead to JUSTICE being delivered -- fairly, wisely. HUMANLY.
Don't talk of WAR. Allow time to figure out WHAT or WHO is responsible,
and THEN mete out a RESPONSE that is tempered with ALL the POSITIVE
human qualities we have the capacity to exhibit.
And DON'T forget about ANY of the people who were victims, either. But
instead of thinking of angry retaliation, think of ways to HELP
those in need now -- there are MANY. GO give blood. GO volunteer ANYTHING
you can to assist the THOUSANDS of people affected directly or indirectly by this.
"Whatever the cost may be..." The American people have just paid a great
and TERRIBLE cost for their ideals.
Now we have to show that these ideals CAN PASS THE TEST.
DON'T SURRENDER, people. NEVER SURRENDER.
I am going to go give some blood later today. And I will continue to draw.
None of my actions will bring people back. But it WILL help those still there.
We must think of the LIVING NOW. There will be time to mourn those
lost later. I WON'T forget them, and neither will you.
OUR ISLAND WILL NOT SINK. OUR HOPE MUST LIVE ON.
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