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April 17, 2007 - Rush Limbaugh Program
48:01
April 17, 2007, Tuesday, Hour #3
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Time Text
Hi, welcome back, folks.
Great to have you with us.
This is the Rush Limbaugh program.
We come to you for the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies.
Here on the Excellence at Broadcasting Network, the telephone number is 800 282-2882, and the email address is rush at EIVD.com.
We're still waiting for the convocation ceremony to begin.
Down at Virginia Tech, the president, George W. Bush, will have comments.
Little note to our affiliate stations.
When the convocation ceremony starts and the president speaks, uh, well, when it starts, we will um we will jip it, we'll carry it.
And if necessary, we're going to go through commercial breaks uh in order for this to be heard.
I'm sure the local affiliates, you local affiliates would uh would bump your commercial breaks as well for this, as will we.
Uh and to all of our sponsors, we will make those good as uh time unfolds.
But one thing I want to point out here, as we are waiting for the ceremony down there to begin at V Tech, and I I I read to you some excerpts of um really one of the most heartless and thoughtless and politically calculated, nasty pieces of column work I have ever read.
It's by Michael Daly in the New York Daily News today.
I don't want to go through all the excerpts again, but the the basic thrust of the piece is to blame the entire state of Virginia for being uh so oriented toward guns.
And he mentions statistics, you've been shrugging for decades as illegal guns from your state plague our city, killing and maiming and terrorizing New Yorkers by the thousands, at one point compromising 47% of the guns that New York cops recovered.
So you see, the crime committed in New York, according to Daly, can't possibly be because of bad people in New York.
No, no, no, no, no.
It has to be the guns from Virginia.
You seem to think it was no big deal when an AD or junior senator got caught carrying an automatic pistol into the Capitol, you having voted Senator Webb into office as an avowed opponent of gun control, and he closes the piece by saying, No wonder some of our cops up here in New York say the bumper stickers down in Virginia should really read Virginia is for gun lovers.
What do you say now, Virginia?
Now, what strikes me, two things strike me about this.
Here you've got a New York liberal writing this piece, besmirching all of the people of Virginia.
Now, if Don Imus was fired for smearing people who didn't deserve it, and if the New York Daily News thought that was a great decision, and they did, then surely this columnist Michael Daly should resign in disgrace.
He just did something worse than Imus.
It's one thing to bash and insult people who just lost the national championship.
That's bad enough.
But what about bashing and insulting an entire state, including thousands of grieving people who just witnessed a massacre?
Now we have to sit here and listen to a New York liberal preach to the state of Virginia about all the people in Virginia, just trash an entire state, thousands of them going through misery right now, grieving through having just witnessed a massacre.
You talk about attacking the powerless.
You talk about attacking people not involved in the story, talking about, you know, and there's no attempt at humor in this Michael Daly piece either.
The second thought that strikes me is here you have this preachy New York liberal, Michael Daly, New York Daily News.
If it weren't for guns from Virginia, why they'd have their little utopia in New York.
And these liberals, don't you find it somewhat interesting that these liberals always are stunned when their utopias turn out to be hell.
They concoct all these circumstances where they think they've created utopia, be it a college campus or be a whatever, and it turns out to be hell.
What other thing is we continue to wait for the convocation to begin?
It's this.
And by the way, note to our affiliate stations.
I might try to stay ahead of the game here, go to the commercial break early, because it looks like we're no nearer starting the convocation ceremony down at V Tech.
I asked last hour, How many of you desensitized to this?
How many of you, when it first happened, and even now as the uh as the details are pouring in?
How many of you find yourselves desensitized to this?
And if if some of you are, let me offer a possible explanation.
From the moment this started happening.
From the moment the details began pouring in, the drive by media reporting this didn't cover this as a human massacre, human tragedy.
They covered this in a political thing, in a political way.
They immediately saw an opportunity here to start advancing their agenda, right?
In this case, gun control.
And that causes people okay, wait a minute, you're gonna start making this into politics.
Well, I'm gonna defend my side on this, so what you what you have is both sides defending a political position in the midst of a massacre.
So if there's any desensitization that is taking place out there, in part it could be because of the way that this whole event has been covered and continues to be covered.
And we've discussed all that throughout the program today, such as the killer's note, rich kids, debauched American society, and so forth.
That'll fit somebody's template before long once they get tired of the gun.
I mean, I've seen reporters asking some of the students at VTech, well, how do you fit?
Is it remind you of Katrina?
Now I'll tell you something in this circumstance, their feelings are um in quite entirely relevant to explore.
I mean this is the that's what this is about.
But the feelings are what get desensitized because of the political nature of the coverage.
Okay, I have I've tried to warn the affiliates here, the board ops.
Let's let's go ahead and take the commercial break now that uh we would normally take in two or three minutes and get it out of the way, at least that's one down.
Uh and hopefully soon after we get back, the convocation ceremony will begin at V Tech, where the president is due to speak.
So sit tight and be patient.
We'll be back and continue right after this.
And we are back.
The convocation ceremony is um it's close to beginning.
They're presenting the colors now.
Uh we will uh let me grab a quick phone call uh before we uh actually have to join this.
I want to start with uh Doug in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, sir.
Nice to have you with us on the EIB network.
Hi, Doc.
Uh hi, Rosh.
Um it may seem like an insensitive question, but it's uh it's an intellectual one.
I'm really having trouble processing it.
Is with the so many people against this one person.
Why didn't why wasn't there like a mass charge or anything?
Or I just don't feel are we teaching our kids to not have a guy had a gun, the guy had a gun and they didn't.
Well, yeah, but I mean, there was an example of one teacher holding the door shut while he was shot to death while the rest got out, but why I just feel like with that many people, there would have been an attempt for a group of people to do it.
I just feel like we have become a nation that we where we we won't sacrifice ourselves, where we won't help ourselves.
We don't know that I I frankly don't know enough about the details of the settings for each of these shootings to be able to weigh in on this with any sense of uh being informed.
Uh I I don't know if this guy was running in and shooting with no notice.
I know he lined some people up in one instance, uh, but the fact that they didn't have a gun and he did is gonna intimidate uh uh would intimidate most uh most everybody.
So let uh let's let's wait on that before we find out what the the details are at least I need to wait before I have the um circumstances of that in a sense that I'm informed, because I, you know, I I don't want to start indicing victims here, and and uh and I know there's an eagerness and desire to uh to do this.
It appears that it has begun down there.
Let's now join in progress the convocation ceremony down at VTech.
Thank you.
Please remain standing until the colors are posted.
Thank you.
You may be seated.
You may be seated.
Good afternoon.
I am Zenobia Lawrence Heights, Vice President for Student Affairs.
We have come together today to remember the cherished and innocent members of the Virginia Tech family whose lives were so abruptly ended in the senseless act that has left us all reeling in excruciating grief.
As we share our sorrow, we collectively pay tribute to these young gifted minds who came to Virginia Tech searching for knowledge and understanding.
And to these dedicated, talented professors who sought to impact that knowledge and enhance that understanding.
Today, the world shares our sorrow and pays tribute with us.
We particularly want the families and friends of those we've lost to know that you have our deepest, most heartfelt sympathy.
Please know that we are here for you and we will do whatever we can to ease your pain even as we deal with our own.
Your loved ones are our valued members of the Virginia Tech family.
And they can never be replaced, either in our hallways or in our hearts.
What happened here yesterday has reverberated not just throughout the Virginia Tech family, but throughout all of higher education.
Indeed, throughout the world.
This global tragedy is one we never imagined seeing on our university campus.
Because of it, we have lost not just these dear members of our Virginia Tech community.
We have lost the sense of peace that comes with learning.
The Virginia Tech family is one of camaraderie, respect, scholarship, pride, and spirit.
Thank you.
Standing together through the good times and the bad.
What has happened to these beloved members of our family has brought us even closer together in our shared grief and our disbelief.
With the help and support of each other, and our brothers and sisters all over the world.
We will eventually recover.
But we will never forget.
At this time, I would like to invite President Charles Steger to come to the podium.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You all are going to make it difficult for me to finish the speech, I have to tell you.
As you know, our university community, indeed, the entire nation and people from many other nations come together to mourn and to grieve, all the while hoping that we'll awaken from what is a horrible nightmare.
In the last day, I've expressed my horror and shock, but there are really no words that truly express the depth of sadness that we feel.
In fact, words are very weak symbols of our true emotions at times such as this.
It's overwhelming, almost paralyzing.
Yet our hearts and our minds call to us to come together to share our individual attempts to comprehend the incomprehensible, to make sense of the senseless, and to find ways for our community to heal, and to slowly and painfully, but inevitably to begin to heal and to again move forward.
We are very grateful that we do not have to travel this path alone.
And we are grateful for all who have attended and joined us today.
The expressions of sympathy and support that have poured in from all corners of our nation and from around the world, literally from around the world, have touched us.
They help us cope with the incredible tragedy and have reaffirmed our basic belief in the goodness of people.
We want to thank all the members, the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, especially the Virginia Tech Police, the Blacksburg Police, the Virginia State Police, and all the emergency responders who rush to our aid, who continue to monitor our campus, and who have the additional horror of investigating this catastrophe.
We cannot thank them enough for their bravery and for their assistance.
We are extremely grateful that you here in the audience today have come to help us and to help each other.
We are thankful for our students and their friends and family who've offered solace and comfort to one another.
In fact, the Student Government Association and the student body have organized a candlelight vigil for tonight that will take place in the drill field near the War Memorial Gym, a war memorial, rather, at 8 p.m.
As I've mentioned previously, but I want to emphasize there is counseling available for all members of the university community.
Counseling for students is available at the Macoma Center and for faculty and staff at Squires in the Brush Mountain Room.
This afternoon in this convocation, we see further testimony that the events that have occurred in our community yesterday had an impact not just on friends and family, but on millions of people from around the world.
To help us mourn and to begin to heal.
We have with us, of course, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
We're very grateful for your being here today.
Also, Virginia Governor Tim Kane and First Lady Ann Holton.
All of the members of the U.S. Congress, representing Virginia, the Honorable Bill Bowling, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonald, members of the General Assembly, as well as members who are current and former members of the Board of Visitors.
We also appreciate having the Blacksburg Town Council and other local officials.
We deeply appreciate your concern.
Now, during his public service, Governor Cain, who has hurriedly flown back from a trade mission in Asia, in fact, I spoke with Governor Cain yesterday, twice from Tokyo.
He came back to be with us.
He's focused on strong values and expanding opportunities for families.
Earlier in his life, he served as a missionary and a teacher in a small village in Honduras, utilizing the twin forces of faith and education to help people.
As you know, Governor Cain has offered us whatever additional resources are needed to help cope with and heal from the pain we carry with us today.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 70th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Governor Tim Kaine.
Thank you.
Thank you.
What an amazing community this is.
Mr. President and Mrs. Bush, and to all who are part of this Virginia Tech community in this room on this campus worldwide today.
It is a very bitter and sad day, and yet my wife Ann and I are very privileged to be here with you, and there's nowhere else in the world we would rather be than with you at this moment.
As Charlie mentioned, Ann and I have left on Sunday morning from Richmond to go on a two-week trade mission to Asia.
One of the events is actually an event in India to spotlight a wonderful program of Virginia Tech.
We had been in Tokyo in the hotel for about five hours when we were awakened with a call about one in the morning to report the horrible tragedy on this campus.
And we were stunned.
And our first thought was we need to get home.
We need to be in Blacks with this community that we care so much about.
We had the experience then of being up in the middle of the night and not being able to get home for about ten hours.
And so we did what people all across the world have been doing in the last couple of days.
We sat there first in our hotel room and then in a coffee shop and then in an airport waiting lounge with the television on, watching to get news about what was happening on this campus and how the campus was handling it.
It was different being away from home, being halfway across the world in seeing what was happening on this campus and what you, you students, were showing to the world.
And even in the midst of the darkest day in the history of this campus, what you showed to the world yesterday, you students, was an amazing thing.
Again and again and again, in all these various news outlets, students were called for to offer their thoughts and ask what they thought about their campus and how they were dealing with this tragedy.
And the grief was real and very raw.
And the questions were deep and troubling.
But again and again, what students came back to wearing the Virginia Tech sweatshirts, wearing the Virginia Tech caps, was the incredible community spirit and the sense of unity here on this campus.
And how before it was about who was to blame or what could have been done different.
It was about how we take care of each other on this wonderful, wonderful community.
How proud we were, even in the midst of a sad day to see how well you represented yourselves in this university to a worldwide community.
There are deep emotions that are called forth by a tragedy as significant as this grieving and sadness by the boatload.
Ann and I have unashamedly shed tears about this, and I know virtually all of you have as well.
That is the thing you should be doing.
You should be grieving.
There are resources here on this campus and others who are on this campus to help you as you find need for consolation.
That is so important.
A second reaction that is a natural reaction is anger, anger at the gunman, anger at the circumstance.
What could have been done different?
Could something have happened?
That's natural as well.
One of the most powerful stories in the human history of stories is that great story central to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, the story of Job from the Old Testament, afflicted with all kinds of tragedies in his family and health.
And he and he was angry.
He was angry at his circumstances.
He was angry at his creator.
He argued with God.
He didn't lose his faith.
But it's okay to argue.
It's okay to be angry.
Those emotions are natural as well.
And finally, the emotions of the family members most affected, beyond grief.
Losing a son, losing a daughter, a brother, a sister, losing a close friend.
It can go beyond grief to isolation and feeling despair.
Those haunting words that were uttered on a hill on Calvary.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Despair is a natural emotion.
At a time like this, they're all natural.
They're all appropriate.
But let me ask one thing of you, this community.
As you wrestle with your sadness, as you wrestle with your own feelings of anger or confusion, as you wrestle with the despair, even you family members who have lost people close to you.
Do not do not let hold of that spirit of community that makes Virginia Tech such a special place.
Do not lose hold of that.
You need it as a university because you've always had it.
You need to maintain it.
We do not need that spirit of community to be a victim of yesterday.
No, you need that.
You as a community unified together.
There is so much you can do for these family members to help bear them up, to help them deal with their grief.
If you are unified, there is an incalculable amount you can do to help the direct family members and friends deal with the loss.
We need in Virginia that spirit of community that you have here.
We're bold enough to call ourselves not a state but a commonwealth.
A state is a dotted line.
A state is a political subdivision.
Commonwealth has a meaning.
The meaning is what we have, the God-given and man-made resources that we have, we hold in common for a community, and you at Virginia Tech can be that community and demonstrate that community for us in a way that will benefit the entire entire Virginia.
And finally, I would say to you from having that vantage point of hearing about this on the other side of the world.
It's not just you that need to maintain the spirit, the world needs you to.
Because the world was watching you yesterday, and in the darkest moment in the history of this university.
The world saw you and saw you respond in a way that built community.
I was reminded in the airport as we got ready to board to come back.
I've seen this story before.
I've turned on the television and seen the bad news of a shooting or a weather emergency or a famine.
I've seen these stories, and there will be more stories.
But there was something in the story yesterday that was different, and it was you.
Your spirit of, even in a dark day of optimism and community and hope, and wanting to be together.
And you taught something good yesterday, even in a dark day to people all around the world, and the World needs that example before it.
And so I pledge to do all I can, President Steiger, and to the members of the community and my team as well to be with you in these coming days, to be alongside of you in difficult times as we sort through and try to work with families and friends.
You have a remarkable community here.
Just look around and see this and see the thousands of students next door.
This is a remarkable place.
Do not let hold of that sense of community which is so powerful in this room.
In the middle of the evening, shortly after we had received word, I received a call from the president, 3:30 in the morning calling to ask about Virginia, how Virginia was doing, how were the students doing.
President Bush was very engaged and wanting to know how people were doing, but more importantly, to say if there was anything he could do, he or the First Lady or the federal government could do to help.
They wanted to be helpful, and they were helpful.
We couldn't have gotten back here so quickly had it not been from assistance from the White House to enable us to be here today.
President Bush is a man who knows deeply that one of the tough but necessary parts of leadership is comfort and consolation in hard times.
First as a governor and now as a president.
He embraces that aspect of leadership, and what a powerful and positive thing it is for the university today to welcome the president of the United States, President George Bush.
Thank you.
Governor, thank you.
President Steger, thank you very much.
Students and faculty and staff and grieving family members and members of this really extraordinary place.
Laura and I have come to Blacksburg today with hearts full of sorrow.
This is a day of mourning for the Virginia Tech community.
And it is a day of sadness for our entire nation.
We've come to express our sympathy.
In this time of anguish, I hope you know that people all over this country are thinking about you.
And asking God to provide comfort for all who have been affected.
Yesterday began like any other day.
Students woke up and they grabbed their backpacks and they headed for class.
And soon the day took a dark turn with students and faculty barricading themselves in classrooms and dormitories, confused, terrified, and deeply worried.
By the end of the morning, it was the worst day of violence on the college campus in American history.
And for many of you here today, it was the worst day of your lives.
It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering.
Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate.
They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now they're gone, and they leave behind grieving families and grieving classmates and a grieving nation.
In such times as this, we look for sources of strength to sustain us.
And in This moment of loss.
You're finding these sources everywhere around you.
These sources of strength are in this community, this college community.
You have a compassionate and resilient community here at Virginia Tech.
Even as yesterday's events were still unfolding, members of this community found each other.
You came together in dorm rooms and dining halls and on blogs.
One recent graduate wrote this.
I don't know most of you guys, but we're all hokies, which means we're family.
To all of you who are okay, I'm happy for that.
For those of you who are in pain or have lost someone close to you, I'm sure you can call on any one of us and have help any time you need.
These sources of strength are with your loved ones.
For many of you, your first instinct was to call home and let your moms and dads know that you were okay.
Others took on the terrible duty of calling the relatives or a classmate or a colleague who had been wounded or lost.
I know many of you feel awfully far away from people you lean on, people you count on during difficult times.
But as a dad, I can assure you, a parent's love is never far from their child's heart.
And as you draw closer to your own families in the coming days, I ask you to reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who will never come home.
These sources of strength are also in the faith that sustain so many of us.
Across the town of Blacksburg and in towns all across America.
Houses of worship from every faith have opened their doors and have lifted you up in prayer.
People who have never met you are praying for you.
They're praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured.
There's a power in these prayers, a real power.
In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God.
As the scriptures tells us, don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
And on this terrible day of mourning, it's hard to imagine that a time will come when life at Virginia Tech will return to normal, but such a day will come.
And when it does, you will always remember the friends and teachers who were lost yesterday and the time you shared with them and the lives that they hope to lead.
May God bless you.
May God bless and keep the souls of the lost.
And may his love touch all those who suffer in grief.
Thank you.
Thank you.
President Bush, we sincerely appreciate you and the first lady joining us today and offering your sincere condolences.
Ladies and gentlemen, our next speaker will be Jacob Lutz III, Rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause As a native of Blacksburg, as a graduate of Virginia Tech, and as rector of the Board of Visitors, I want to express both my horror and shock at the events of yesterday, and also Appreciation for the outpouring of support from the people around the world and for so many prayers that have been lifted up in our behalf.
We gather this afternoon to mourn and pay homage to those innocent lives lost in this unfathomable tragedy.
We gather as a family, as a community saddened beyond belief.
We also recognize that we are part of a larger community, which is a national community dedicated to teaching of our young people, performing critical research and to outreach for all of us.
Education is a critical component of a free and open society.
Unfortunately, history teaches us that the horror that befell Virginia Tech yesterday has and could occur at any institution.
Our educational system is a national treasure, one that we must preserve and keep safe for our children and for the degenerate and for the children of generations to come.
As President Bush noted yesterday, our sanctuary has been violated.
We feel violated and are filled with sadness and grief.
Yet in our hearts, we know we must somehow move forward as painful as those steps are.
From somewhere in the human spirit, we can and will find the strength and courage to continue.
And while that may seem an impossible task, we must move forward and begin the healing process.
We are blessed today to have with us four leaders from our local religious community who are here to assist us with our grief and in whose strong hands we place our hearts in this most troubling time.
With us we have Dr. Seiki Riyadh, a leader in our local Muslim community.
Come on, all of you.
We also have Ms. Julie Still from Living Buddhism of Virginia Tech.
Ms. Sue Kurtz, Director of Hillel of Virginia Tech.
And the Reverend Bill King, who is director of Lutheran Campus Ministries.
We greatly appreciate their help and are thankful for their strength and their guidance.
In the name of Allah, the most merciful, most compassionate, Yeah.
On behalf of the Muslim community in Blasped, and as members of the blasphemy and the Virginia communities, we express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims that we lost yesterday.
All of us here, the children of Adam and Eve.
We all unite in pain, and we are all hurt.
Death strikes every day all over the world.
We see it on television and hear and read about it in the media.
But when it hits home, we feel it is in its intensity, and we recognize its reality.
The Islamic faith reminds us in Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2, Verse 156 of the Holy Quran, بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ أَلَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ الْرَاجَعُونَ Those who say when afflicted with calamity, to Allah we belong, and to him is our return.
And in Surat Luqman, chapter 31, verse 34, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminds us.
وما تدري نفس ماذا تكسب غدا وما تدري نفس بأي أرض تموت.
إن الله عليم خبير.
Nor does anyone know what it is that he or she will earn tomorrow, nor does anyone know in what land he or she is to die.
Verily, with Allah his full knowledge, and he is acquainted with all things.
Death strikes home when we least expect it.
To remind us of the only fact of life that we all subscribe to.
Rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, Ill or well in the battlefield or in the classroom.
It comes to remind us of how vulnerable we are, no matter what we do, no matter how much security we have, no matter what we believe in, it will happen.
Some would say it doesn't have to happen that way.
I remind myself and remind them that there is a creator with a wisdom beyond our comprehension, and with mercy and compassion far beyond our appreciation.
To Allah we belonged, and to him is our return.
I pray to God that this one incident will not change the character of our peaceful and friendly town and university.
I pray to God that the quality of life that we all enjoy and will continue to enjoy in this community will continue to attract new students to our university, attract professionals to make this place their home, and continue to retire here.
Finally, we should not let this tragedy make us lose confidence in our great law enforcement officers.
They have kept our community safe and provided for the great quality of life we all enjoy at this university and in this town.
We know them as diligent and dedicated professionals.
Even a singularity of this immense magnitude should never overshadow all the good work these great men and women have done to make this community so safe and so enjoyable.
I conclude with the Islamic greetings of peace.
Wassalamu alaikum.
Thank you.
I'm here on behalf of the Buddhist community on campus.
In the aftermath of the terrible events yesterday, I extend my deepest condolences to all those families who have lost their loved ones.
From the bottom of my heart, I pray for the victims, and I pray for all those, especially their families, find inner peace, understanding, and compassion leading to healing.
It is impossible not to be outraged at the senseless loss of so many lives.
The number of deaths were utterly horrific.
Every person lost was irreplaceable and immensely precious.
A much loved sister, father, son, teacher, and friend.
The message of all religious teachings is the sacredness and preciousness of life.
In the most terrible manner imaginable, we have been reminded of the immense value of human life.
Like you, I have been receiving and sending numerous emails and phone calls connecting with family and friends.
The emotional stress we are all under is overwhelming.
However, the Dalai Lama has said, it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for good.
Now is our opportunity as a community to unite.
We must connect with each other just as we are reconnecting with family and friends.
In the words of poet Jennifer Edwards, the beauty of life is while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it, and change, so that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear, or anger, but in wisdom, understanding, and love.
Each action we take can embrace or alienate.
In the words of Daisaka Akaida, a well-known Buddhist leader, when great evil occurs, great good follows.
But great good does not come about on its own.
Courage is always required to accomplish great good.
Now is the time for us to demonstrate the courage of nonviolence, the courage to engage in dialogue, the courage to listen to what we don't want to hear, and the courage to control our desire for revenge and follow reason.
I am convinced that we are born into this world with an inherent good nature, and together we must restore our faith in humanity.
I believe that from this tragedy, Courage is the greatest and most endearing honor that we can give in the memory of our loved ones.
I'd like to take just a moment for us all to just reflect on everything.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
At this time of great tragedy, we are left with more questions than answers.
For thousands of years, our traditions have looked upon good and evil, life and death, with a sense of awe.
In the Bible, the writer, Kohelet, known in English as Ecclesiats, surveyed the world and found comfort in the mystery of the design divine plan.
He wrote, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
In every time and every time, in every time, in every time.
A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
Etla ledet vedlamut.
Et la tatatla konotua.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to break down and a time to build up.
Et la hagog ved.
Et le frotz vetlivnot.
A time to weep and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
Et liv kot veedlischok.
Et se fod vedrechod.
A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together.
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to seek and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to cast away.
Okay, ladies and gentlemen.
We are going to uh terminate uh our coverage of the convocation here as we time uh to come time here to wrap up the program.
I'm getting emails from people.
Why didn't you break out of this sooner or after the president?
We uh we received word from the vast majority of our affiliates today that they wanted to carry the entire thing.
Uh uh today, and and uh it is a therapeutic moment for a lot of people.
I'm sorry to interrupt this group of uh of uh memorializers at this point, but I did want to close out the show and sorry, we'll be back tomorrow, and uh whatever happens to now and then, as you know and trust will be on top of it.
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