I’m here for the same reason I was at the Boston Marathon finish line. I’m here for the same reason that I was down at the Gulf oil spill. I’m here for the same reason (there are only places) where Americans have been truly, fundamentally devastated, had everything … that they thought their community was about questioned, ripped away from them. I’m here because you are, you are the heart and soul of America. You are an example of who we are as a people. We never bend, we never break, we never stop, and we always rebuild. That’s why I’m here with you today.
Governor, you govern a remarkable state made up of people with true grit and determination. Every tornado venue I’ve visited you with afterwards, I’ve been amazed, amazed by the determination, the commitment, the resilience, the unspeakable sense that nothing can defeat us. But most of all, by the way you all think in terms of community, not in terms of self. Mr. Mayor, what a city. The rest of the region and here devastated by one of nature’s most awesome furies: an E5 tornado. It’s hard to imagine unless you’ve seen it, and impossible for those of us who have not been through it, to fully understand the devastation, physically, mentally, the devastation, the chaos that follows in it’s path.
500 businesses destroyed, tens of thousands of cars tossed around like leaves in a fall windstorm. 161,000 brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents, lost. *
C.J. asked for a moment of silence. I can tell you from experience – I lost a child and lost a wife – that every time there is an anniversary or a celebration that follows that, it brings it all back for the families of those who lost their loved ones. Today is both celebration, but also it’s a vivid, vivid reminder of what happened.
But as a community, you never stood down. You endured, you overcame. And look at you now. You know, the book of Isaiah, chapter 40 verse 31, says “They that trust in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with eagle’s wings. They that trust in the Lord.” That’s what you’ve done. You’ve come back, stronger than before, with a commitment and a passion to envision a new Joplin. A magnificent school, laptops instead of textbooks, hands-on learning opportunities like building robots, using, using your increase in high school graduation rate, increasing by nearly 10 percent, just since the tornado. People moving into Joplin instead of out of Joplin, businesses moving back, and others coming.
Why? Why would anyone who never lived in Joplin before decide to move to Joplin after what they saw? What they saw is the character of this community. Anyone in America would want to be part of a community that has hung together like this one, that had the grit that this one has shown. The whole nation, the whole world saw those terrible, terrible images in the aftermath of the tornado. But there’s one image, and I only saw it on television, there’s one image that stood out in my mind. You didn’t have televisions to watch it at the time. But it was the backyard of a devastated home, and a tree that was barely standing. Hanging in the branch of that tree was an America flag. Alongside that flag was a quote from scripture. Jeremiah, chapter 29 verse 11. Alongside that flag it said, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
They say our toil on this earth is a toil of our own hands. You, the people of Joplin, you reestablished hope not just for the people of Joplin but for tens of thousands of people around the world who go through similar things like you went through and wonder, “How can we make it?” And they remember this town in the middle of America, in Missouri, named Joplin, with no central, special asset other than its people, has rebuilt. You underestimate the hope all of you give Americans who have been broken and devastated by crises in their lives, and you’ve guaranteed the future – we’re looking at the future – you’ve guaranteed that it will remain your priority.
And folks, you’ve given an entirely new meaning to the word “homecoming.” An entirely new meaning. Because you know the word “homecoming” didn’t start when public education came about at the end of the 1800s to mark those days when the football teams would play, etc. “Homecoming” means, to me, a return and a reaffirmation of the basic values that make it all worthwhile with such incredible people, like all of you here. “Homecoming” is about faith. It’s about hope, it’s about charity, it’s about simply caring. That’s what homecoming’s about. And that’s what I see here today.
And C.J., my guess is tonight, the Eagles of Joplin High School are going to fly very, very high. And my guess is Arne Duncan, who was an academic all-America basketball player and played professional basketball, her says he wants to go see the gym. I was a runner-up at a state scoring championship in my home state in football; I want to go see the football field. And I’m just glad I’m not going to be on the other side of the line from the Joplin Eagles tonight when you take the field.
You know, the day will come, the day will come when students walking through these doors will have no personal memory of May 22, 2011. But they will always know the values of the community that raised them, the ballfields they played on, and the legacy of recovery. And for the rest of them, and for the rest of their lives, they’ll be able to say, “We are Joplin. We are Joplin strong.” God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. C.J., I’ve got a V.P. hat for you in exchange.
Great speech. Next stop: next speech.
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