"Even in our grief we will be resolute. . ."
CNN video of procession
It was hard not to be moved watching the ceremony this afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base as the remains of the four fallen U.S. State Department employees were returned from Libya, in the presence of grieving loved ones, the Secretary of State, the Vice-President, and the eulogizer-in-chief, the President of the United States.
In solemn moments like these, people can reach for their highest selves.
I was struck by a moment following remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then, President Barack Obama, both of whom seemed to be steeling themselves against emotion, as the President stepped back and, side by side a few feet apart, he and Secretary Clinton reached out for each other's hands in a moment that made entirely insignificant a bloody rivalry four years ago.
It was, today, a revealing look into what service in highest office does to transform people, whether Clinton or Obama, how suddenly getting all those intelligence briefings and knowing what's going on in the world and how precarious the circumstances we come to take for granted can be, how men go grey in the office, mature and age. It goes to the comments Obama made repeatedly in recent days about being wise and measured as opposed to shooting first and aiming second. It also goes to the difficulty of campaigning against a sitting commander-in-chief in times of national crisis, when unity seems even more important.
This isn't a time for politics, not from either side. It's not a time for opportunism. The world spinning around outside can look petty and insignificant.
It's a time for higher selves.
Video and transcripts:
President Obama's remarks at transfer of remains ceremony - The Washington Post
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Lee DeVita
jlsathre
ManhattanWhiteGirl
john guzlowski
Shannon Kulik
Sirenita Lake
Salon.com
Comments
`
I though this was Joan H.'s Blog.
`
John Ruskin comes to Memory.
`
*
Say all you have to say in few words.
Your Readers will be sure to skip you.
Write in the plainest possible words.
Surely . . . (paraphrased) folk will skip.
`
P.S.
Yes Sad.
I was at Andrews .
I was there in 1948.
My Father held me.
Uncle Bernard died.
`
I am not dramatizing.
I was one-month old.
I have the W.P. Ring.
`
It was Thanksgiving.
I can't Remember it.
Dad always grieved.
`
Uncle Bernard died.
He was a air- pilot.
Thanks for memory.
`
I'll go listen to eulogies.
It's health to touch pain.
I best go view moonrise.
`
r.