Barack Obama

“ That this job of keeping our children safe -- and teaching them well -- is something we can only do together: with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community and the help of a nation. And in that way we come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child, because we're counting on everybody else to help look after ours. That we're all parents, that they are all our children. ”

“ We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this. If there's even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that's visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try. ”

“ For those of us who remain: let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory. May God bless, and keep, those we've lost in His heavenly place. May He grace those we still have with His holy comfort, and may He bless and watch over this community and the United States of America. ”

“ In the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconscionable evil, you've looked out for each other. And you've cared for one another. And you've loved one another. This is how Newtown will be remembered, and with time and God's grace, that love will see you through. But we as a nation: we are left with some hard questions. You know someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around. ”

“ Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage? That the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom? ”

“ And every parent knows there's nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm, and yet we also know that with that child's very first step and each step after that, they're separating from us, that we won't, that we can't, always be there for them. They will suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments. And we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear. ”

“ To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests. Scripture tells us:
Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly, we are being renewed, day by day. For light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God: an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ”

“ You know all the world's religions, so many of them represented here today, start with a simple question: why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose? We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain. ”

“ This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how as a society we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we're meeting our obligations? ”

“ So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. ”

“ That even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it's wealth or power or fame or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that no matter how good our intentions, we'll all stumble, sometimes, in some way. ”

“ We'll experience hardships. And even when we're trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God's heavenly plans. ”

“ We gather here in memory of twenty beautiful children, and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school -- in a quiet town full of good and decent people, that could be any town in America. ”