(April 20 ,2007)
Good morning. This week, the thoughts and
prayers of millions of Americans are with the victims of the Virginia Tech
attacks. We mourn promising lives cut short. We pray for the wounded. And we
send our love to those who are hurting.
The day after the attack, Laura and I attended a memorial service on the
campus in Blacksburg. We met with faculty members who lost students and
colleagues, and shared hugs with grieving moms and dads -- including parents who
had lost their only child. We offered what words of comfort we could, and we
were moved by the solidarity and strength of spirit we found. We wanted everyone
at the university to know that this tragedy saddened our entire Nation -- and
that the American people stand with them in an hour of darkness.
We can
never fully understand what would cause a student to take the lives of 32
innocent people. What we do know is that this was a deeply troubled young man --
and there were many warning signs. Our society continues to wrestle with the
question of how to handle individuals whose mental health problems can make them
a danger to themselves and to others.
Colleges and state and local
officials are now confronting these issues, and the Federal government will
help. I've asked top officials at the Departments of Education, Justice, and
Health and Human Services to provide the Virginia Tech community with whatever
assistance we can, and to participate in a review of the broader questions
raised by this tragedy.
I have directed these officials to travel to communities across our Nation,
to meet with educators, mental health experts, and state and local officials. I
have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, to
summarize what they learn and report back to me with recommendations about how
we can help to avoid such tragedies.
This week at Virginia Tech, we saw a glimpse of humanity at its worst, and we
also saw humanity at its best. We learned of students who risked their own
safety to tend to wounded classmates. We heard of a teacher who used his body to
barricade a classroom door, and gave his life so his students could escape
through windows. And we saw the good people of Blacksburg embrace victims of
this tragedy and help their neighbors endure, and heal, and hope.
That hope was expressed in a letter written by a Virginia Tech graduate
shortly after the attack. He wrote: "Today, there is pain everywhere in our
community, and our hearts are troubled. Yet I am certain our university will
persevere." He continued, "Evil can never succeed, not while there are...men and
women like the people of Virginia Tech who reach every day for success, and
endeavor for the improvement of the human condition across the planet."
This week, we reflect on what has been lost and comfort those enduring a
profound grief. And somehow we know that a brighter morning will come. We know
this because together Americans have overcome many evils and found strength
through many storms. And we know there will be a day, as promised in Scripture,
when evil will meet its reckoning and when every tear shall be wiped away.
May God bless those who mourn and may God bless our wonderful country. Thank
you for listening.
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