Floor Statement by John Edwards
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
Mr. President:
We each awoke yesterday to a much different world than the one we have to accept today.
On the most basic and important level, we have lost the lives of heroes and victims. We know that behind the devastating numbers are real Americans, with real families, with real accomplishments, with real hopes.
We also know - sadly - that we can never reclaim these lives.
We can only honor them and remember them, and in their names we can devote ourselves to taking every action to assure that no further Americans make these supreme sacrifices.
My scripture teaches us to "weep with them that weep, be of the same mind one toward another."
I speak now to the families of those who have been taken.
We in this chamber cannot erase yesterday, although we wish we had a way to do that.
In the difficult days and years that will come, we will keep their lives and their names and their sacrifices in our hearts and we will translate our grief and anger into a determination to prevent this tragedy from being repeated.
I know that it is little solace for real loss, but it is an important commitment I truly believe they would each wish us to make.
We will not forget.
And we will act.
For 225 years now, America has been more than a nation-state; more than a set of borders, or a piece of land.
America is an idea – and that idea is freedom.
Freedom of thought; freedom of movement; freedom to shape our lives and our society in the way we choose.
Yesterday morning, it wasn't just America that came under assault. It was the hopes and aspirations of freedom-loving peoples across this world.
Mr. President, there is a reason America does not bow down to terrorism;
There is a reason we live by the rule of law – and not by the law of the jungle;
There is a reason we will return to our homes and office buildings, and reclaim our skies and our pride;
There is a reason we will marshal all our resources, all our resolve, and the awesome strength of our military to catch these death-mongers, to punish them, to make them pay for their ugly misdeeds:
Because we surrender our freedom to no one.
I commend President Bush for his leadership in this difficult time, and I urge all of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to stand with him.
From time to time, from issue to issue, the votes in this chamber may be divided. But when it comes to defeating terrorism and hate, the United States Senate will not be divided.
Some have wondered, in the aftermath of this tragedy, whether our country will ever be the same again.
Of course, we need to make our airports safer – and we will.
We need to make our flights more secure, and their flight patterns more inviolate – and we will.
We need to do more to root our terrorism in the countries where it is tolerated, funded, and harbored – and we will.
But the strength of a nation is measured not in airport scanners or flight controls. It is measured in the grit and will of our people when it's needed the most.
By that standard, America is the strongest, toughest, most resilient nation on God's Earth.
Scripture also tells us that "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant."
We glimpsed that greatness yesterday, in rescue efforts in New York City and at the Pentagon – with policemen and firemen, military personnel, and so many brave volunteers putting themselves in harm's way to save lives. Too many of them paid the ultimate price for their courage.
My Senate office was practically flooded with calls yesterday from concerned North Carolinians – people who wanted to give blood, to donate clothes and blankets, to open their hearts in this time of solidarity and need.
I am especially proud that a group of Marine medical personnel from Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina is preparing to leave for New York to assist in any way they can.
Today, we cannot help but think: how fragile is the safety and security we take for granted.
But throughout our history, we have weathered war and pestilence; we have met every kind of disaster, both natural and man-made; we have mastered every challenge and conquered every foe.
The spirit of America is strong. The power of freedom will overcome. And by reaffirming that freedom through strength, justice, and compassion, we will honor the memory of those now departed, and give renewed purpose to those who will now carry on.
