Dan Rather

 Tonight, I Mourn

Dan Rather, Elliot Kirschner, and Steady Team Aug 27

Tonight, I mourn. 

I mourn with a deep and heavy heart. 

I mourn for the Marines sacrificed at a gate in Kabul on a mission to save lives. 

I mourn for the scores more killed and maimed by this deadly attack. 

I mourn for those in danger of being left behind. 

I mourn for the American service members who have already been lost and wounded over 20 years of brutal conflict, and the casualties of our allies and civilians. 

I mourn for our nation, so torn by the most unseemly of politics, that a terrorist bomb becomes an excuse for point-scoring. 

I mourn for a pandemic of anti-science conspiracy theories that is filling our ICUs beyond capacity and killing by the hundreds of thousands. 

I mourn for all who have died because of the recklessness of others. 

I mourn for our planet, sick and aching. 

I mourn for all those suffering tonight, who are going to bed homeless, hungry, and frightened. 

I mourn for a world in mourning. 

I write this to find some solace in sharing this sadness with others, to find comfort in our common humanity. Loss is part of life. It comes in waves of unequal frequency, on a personal level and a global scale. We can create a space to share our feelings, tonight and going forward. Steady.

I leave you tonight with a famous quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, spoken by Malcolm in a moment of great tragedy: 

"Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."