At the interfaith memorial service for the five fallen Dallas police officers shot to death last week, former President George W. Bush reminded the audience, “Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.”
Speaking of the five officers who were killed, Bush said, “With their deaths, we have lost so much. We are grief-stricken, heartbroken, and forever grateful.”
Bush continued:
Every officer has accepted a calling that sets them apart. Most of us imagine if the moment called for, that we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child. Those wearing the uniform assume that risk for the safety of strangers. They and their families share the unspoken knowledge that each new day can bring new dangers. But none of us were prepared—or could be prepared—for an ambush by hatred and malice. The shock of this evil still has not faded.
Bush also spoke about how it “seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together.”
At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates too quickly into dehumanization. Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.
Bush explained that in order to “renew our unity, we only need to remember our values."
And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose. But Americans, I think, have a great advantage. To renew our unity, we only need to remember our values. We have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit, by shared commitments to common ideals. At our best, we practice empathy, imagining ourselves in the lives and circumstances of others. This is the bridge across our nation’s deepest divisions.
And it’s not merely a matter of tolerance, but of learning from the struggles and stories of our fellow citizens and finding ourselves in the process. At our best, we honor the image of God we see in one another. We recognize that we are brothers and sisters, sharing the same brief moment on Earth, and owing each other the loyalty of our shared humanity. At our best, we know we have one country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief, nor do we want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection, and high purpose.
We know that the kind of just, humane country that we want to build, that we have seen in our best dreams, is made possible when men and women in uniform stand guard. At their best, when they are trained, and trusted, and accountable, they free us from fear.