In his first inaugural address, President Franklin Roosevelt, who would later lead the nation to a World War II victory, told Americans, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'
There has probably never been a time when our nation has needed his advice more than now.
Four weeks ago, the world was bombarded with horrific images of plane crashes and collapsing buildings. We heard reports of terrorism and unbelievable death tolls. We saw the airline industry suffer, and we saw the economy fall.
And for the past two days, we have seen countless images of Osama bin Laden on TV, telling his followers that because God is against us, Americans should be afraid.
If we want to admit defeat, then he is right. We should be afraid. We should fear flying, fear buying, fear investing, fear retaliating, fear future attacks and fear leaving our homes to go to school and work everyday.
But if we want to prove him and all terrorists wrong, we need to stand united with courage and determination, confident in the knowledge that goodness will prevail in this battle for freedom and justice.
Now, more than ever, it is vital that we do not fear life in this great nation. As we fight this war, some of our freedoms might be limited, and some of our daily activities might be altered.
But this does not mean we cannot continue to live in a manner that will keep ourselves, our families and our nation strong.
As demonstrated by the reaction of millions of Americans nationwide to the initial terrorist attacks, people want to help both at home and abroad. And although there is not much citizens can do to directly help the war effort abroad, we are not powerless to defend our country against these attackers.
Perhaps the best way to help our nation attain victory in this new war is to be unified and stand strong here at home. We need to go to work, go to school, shop, fly and live our lives.
We need to remember the words of President Hinckley, who, minutes after learning of our country's retaliation, said, 'Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.'
Let's prove, then, that Americans will not be beaten. Let's prove that freedom and right cannot be vanquished. Let's be committed to doing good in our homes, in our jobs and in our communities.
In so doing, we advance, rather than paralyze, our nation's efforts. We beat fear, and we beat bin Laden.