63.Bill Clinton - Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address
Thank you very much, Governor Keating and Mrs. Keating, Reverend Graham,
to the families of those who have been lost and wounded, to
the people of Oklahoma City, who have endured
so much, and the people of this wonderful state, to all of you who are here as our fellow Americans.
I am honored to be here today to represent the American people.
But I have to tell you that Hillary and I also come as parents, as husband and wife, as people who were your neighbors
for some of the best years of our lives.
Today our nation joins with you in grief. We mourn with you. We share your hope against
hope that some may still survive. We thank all those who have worked so
heroically to save lives and to solve this crime those here in Oklahoma and those who are all across this great
land, and many who left their own lives to come here to work hand in hand with you. We
pledge to do all we can to help you heal the injured, to rebuild this city, and to bring to justice
those who did this evil.
This terrible sin took the lives of our American family, innocent children
in that building, only because their parents were trying to be good parents as well as good workers. citizens in
the building going about their daily business. and many there who served the rest of us who
worked to help the elderly and the disabled, who worked to support our farmers and our
veterans, who worked to enforce our laws and to protect
us. Let us say clearly, they served us well, and we are grateful.
But for so many of you they were also neighbors and friends.
You saw them at church or the PTA meetings, at the civic clubs, at the ball park. You
know them in ways that all the rest of America could not. And to all
the members of the families here present who have suffered
loss, though we share your grief, your pain
is unimaginable, and we know that. We cannot undo it. That is God"s work.
Our words seem small beside the loss you have endured.
But I found a few I wanted to share today. I"ve received a lot of letters in these last
terrible days. One stood out because it came
from a young widow and a mother of three whose own
husband was murdered with over 200
other Americans when Pan Am 103 was shot down. Here is what that woman
said I should say to you today:
The anger you feel is valid, but you
must not allow yourselves to be consumed by it. The hurt you feel must
not be allowed to turn into hate, but instead into the search for justice. The loss
you feel must not paralyze your own lives. Instead, you must try to pay tribute to
your loved ones by continuing to do all the things they left undone, thus ensuring they did not die in vain.
Wise words from one who also knows.
You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. And you have certainly not lost America,
for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes.
If ever we needed evidence of that, I could only recall the words of Governor and Mrs.
Keating: "If anybody thinks that Americans are mostly mean and selfish, they ought to come
to Oklahoma. If anybody thinks Americans have lost the capacity for love and caring and
courage, they ought to come to Oklahoma."
To all my fellow Americans beyond this hall, I say, one thing we owe those who have
sacrificed is the duty to purge ourselves of the dark forces which gave rise to this evil. They
are forces that threaten our common peace, our freedom, our way of life. Let us teach our
children that the God of comfort is also the God of righteousness: Those who trouble their own
house will inherit the wind.1 Justice will prevail.
Let us let our own children know that we will stand against the forces of fear. When there is
talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand
up and talk against it. In the face of death, let us honor life. As St. Paul admonished us, Let us
"not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."2
Yesterday, Hillary and I had the privilege of speaking with some children of other federal
employees children like those who were lost here. And one little girl said something we will
never forget. She said, "We should all plant a tree in memory of the children."
So this morning before we got on the plane to come here, at
the White House, we planted that tree in honor of the children of Oklahoma. It was a dogwood with
its wonderful spring flower and its deep, enduring roots. It embodies the lesson of the Psalms that
the life of a good person is like a tree whose leaf does not wither.3
My fellow Americans, a tree takes a long time to grow, and wounds take a long time to heal.
But we must begin. Those who are lost now belong to God. Some day we will be with
them. But
until that happens, their legacy must be our lives.
Thank you all, and God bless you.
1 Proverbs 11:29 "He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to
the wise of heart." (NKJV)2 Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (NIV)
3 Psalms 1:3 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way ofsinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf
does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (NIV)
