President Obama: Why we know that we will get through this

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tod


President Obama traveled to Waco, Texas to speak at a memorial service for those lost and injured in last week’s deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in nearby West, Texas . . .

excerpts:

"Most of the people in West know everybody in West. Many of you are probably descended from those first settlers -- hardy immigrants who crossed an ocean and kept on going. So for you, there’s no such thing as a stranger. When someone is in need, you reach out to them and you support them, and you do what it takes to help them carry on.

That’s what happened last Wednesday, when a fire alarm sounded across a quiet Texas evening. As we’ve heard, the call went out to volunteers -- not professionals -- people who just love to serve. People who want to help their neighbors. A call went out to farmers and car salesmen; and welders and funeral home directors; the city secretary and the mayor. It went out to folks who are tough enough and selfless enough to put in a full day’s work and then be ready for more.

And together, you answered the call. You dropped your schoolwork, left your families, jumped in fire trucks, and rushed to the flames. And when you got to the scene, you forgot fear and you fought that blaze as hard as you could, knowing the danger, buying time so others could escape. And then, about 20 minutes after the first alarm, the earth shook, and the sky went dark -- and West changed forever.

Today our prayers are with the families of all who we’ve lost -- the proud sons and daughters of West whose memories will live on in our hearts. Parents who loved their kids, and leaders who served their communities. They were young and old, from different backgrounds and different walks of life. A few were just going about their business. An awful lot ran towards the scene of disaster trying to help. One was described as the kind of guy whose phone was always ringing with folks in need of help -- help he always provided. That’s just who these folks were.

Our thoughts are with those who face a long road -- the wounded, the heartbroken, the families who lost their homes and possessions in an instant. They’re going to need their friends in West, but they’re also going to need their friends in Texas, and their friends all across this country. They’ll still need you to answer that call. They will need those things that are lasting and true . . .



Erich Schlegel/Getty Images


So that's the thing about this tragedy. This small town’s family is bigger now. It extends beyond the boundaries of West. And in the days ahead, this love and support will be more important than ever, because there will be moments of doubt and pain and the temptation to wonder how this community will ever fully recover. And the families who have lost such remarkable men of the sort that we saw in that video, there are going to be times where they simply don't understand how this could have happened.

But today I see in the people of West, in your eyes, that what makes West special isn't going to go away. And instead of changing who you are, this tragedy has simply revealed who you’ve always been . . .

Going forward, it’s not just your town that needs your courage and your love and your faith. America does, too. We need towns where if you don’t know what your kids are up to, then chances are your neighbors do too, and they'll tell on those kids in a second. (Laughter.) America needs towns that holds fundraisers to help folks pay the medical bills and then take the time to drop off a home-cooked meal, because thy know a family is under stress. America needs communities where there’s always somebody to call if your car gets stuck or your house gets flooded. We need people who so love their neighbors as themselves that they’re willing to lay down their lives for them.

America needs towns like West. (Applause.) That’s what makes this country great, is towns like West. “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us. We went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.”

You have been tested, West. You have been tried. You have gone through fire. But you are and always will be surrounded by an abundance of love. You saw it in the voices on those videos. You see it in the firefighters and first responders who are here. (Applause.) All across America, people are praying for you and thinking of you. And when they see the faces of those families, they understand that these are not strangers -- these are neighbors. And that’s why we know that we will get through this . . ."

read entire remarks: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/25/remarks-president-memorial-service-waco-tx


Charles Dharapak/AP