2015 has been a dark year for humanity.

In January, we mourned the brave cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo who lost their lives simply for exercising their inherent right of free speech, along with others who died in related incidents.

Now, as the year nears an end and the joyous Hanukkah and Christmas holidays approach, Islamist terrorists have again inflicted their deadly and barbaric savagery on the people of France. In doing so, they trampled human dignity and the most basic and inalienable rights of people.

In the wake of this enormous tragedy, all good people everywhere should stand with France and her people. Despite the barriers of geography and distance, tonight we are all French. We must be, if we are part of the human family.

Tonight the world mourns.

Every person who savors life and embraces the most basic humanitarian principles sheds tears for the French people. The French people are an integral part of one human family. Tonight, the human family has suffered an incalculable loss.

Tomorrow the world needs persistent and unwavering courage.

Every person who cherishes free and tolerant societies must stand with France and her people. The world must have the courage to face down the extremists who take the lives and steal the freedom of innocent people as a sacrifice to their monstrous ideology and in pursuit of their repressive goals.

If that courage is lacking, human progress will be in retreat. Everything good about humanity will be put at risk. However, with steadfast courage, the darkness of evil and its perpetrators will recede.

The world will never forget tonight’s terrible events. But with such courage, the human family will survive. Over time, there will be a measure of remembrance and healing. Additional chapters of the remarkable story of human progress will be written.

My thoughts, condolences, prayers, and heart go out to France and her people.