Barack Obama: “These miners lived — as they died — in pursuit of the American dream.”

And there’s no reason to suggest that we can’t get through this one either.

We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse…

They're meant to remind us of who we can be, to remind us of what's possible, so we can forge ahead.

It fortifies you to say that, yes, this has been part of the journey that we’re on.