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Patriot Day Speech, 9/11/02

Today we commemorate the one-year anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

The scale of that event was terrible, its motivation incomprehensible, and its result devastating and sobering.

It set our nation on a course of soul searching and reawakened us to the fragility of our civilization and the precious nature of the open and free society we had perhaps taken too much for granted.

This tragedy has split time into a "before" and "after," and history will judge us for how we respond.

On this first observance of Patriot Day, let us frame our response with three words which capture the obligation of our day: remembrance, unity and resolve.

Last evening we rang bells of remembrance and lowered our flags to half-staff to honor those who died and the families of those who died.

We remember the victims.

We remember the courage and selflessness of firefighters, rescue workers and all the others who worked to save them.

We remember the generosity of those who donated time and resources to relieve the suffering.

And, we remember our love of country as the best of America responded.

Today we express unity by pausing for a moment of silence to let our hearts beat as one.

We unite with the world community, including 70 other countries that also lost citizens in the attacks.

We unite as a nation and demonstrate our renewed patriotism by protecting our nation's founding values of freedom and democracy.

We unite to support our men and women who serve in the battle for homeland defense, including state and local law enforcement, the national guard and the armed services.

In unity, we fly our flags proudly, vote freely and defend vigilantly the values we hold dear.

Tonight at 10 p.m. we fire cannons to demonstrate our resolve to move forward with optimism and strength.

We resolve to protect our land from terror and preserve our liberties.

We resolve to be kind and tolerant to all people and demonstrate this commitment in word and deed.

We resolve to serve purposes larger than self.

We resolve to work earnestly to be "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

On the last day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a frail, eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin observed that during the convention debates he had often looked at the half sun carved into the back of George Washington's chair without knowing whether it was rising or setting.

In that final hour of the convention he concluded and announced that it was a rising sun, a beacon of light and symbol of hope and freedom for the nation and the world.

Now, 215 years later, our nation struggles to come to grips with the unspeakable acts of September 11 - acts perpetrated against us, ironically, because we are that beacon of hope and freedom.

Let us renew our remembrance of those who died and those who fought to save them.

Let us stand in unity with a deeper appreciation for our freedom, our civilization, and the sanctity of human life.

Let us strengthen our resolve to preserve life and liberty, to treat one another with more kindness and respect and to make this world a safer, better place.

Let history say of our response to this dark tragedy that the sun was rising on the American people, on the people of Utah, and on the world.

Thank you, God bless.