On Saturday, the George W. Bush Presidential Center posted a message from the 43rd president. "This is a challenging and solemn time in the life of our nation and world," Bush began. With black-and-white photos and soft music, he urged America to show compassion and creativity in battling the coronavirus, thanked the medical professionals risking their own lives to treat patients, and reminded America that the country has overcome hard challenges before and that "empathy and simple kindness are essential, powerful tools of national recovery."
"Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat," Bush said. "In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together. And we are determined to rise."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Parker Palm Springs review: decadence in the California desertThe Week Recommends This over-the-top hotel is a mid-century modern gem
-
The real story behind the Stanford Prison ExperimentThe Explainer 'Everything you think you know is wrong' about Philip Zimbardo's infamous prison simulation
-
Is it safe for refugees to return to Syria?Talking Point European countries rapidly froze asylum claims after Assad's fall but Syrian refugees may have reason not to rush home
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdownSpeed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdownSpeed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorismSpeed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about BidensSpeed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes chargesSpeed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
-
Biden sets new clemency record, hints at moreSpeed Read President Joe Biden commuted a record 1,499 sentences and pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes
-
Mysterious drones roil New Jersey, prompt FBI inquirySpeed Read State and federal officials are both stumped and concerned
-
South Korean president vows to fight removalSpeed Read Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree and said he will not step down, despite impeachment efforts
