From President Barack Obama’s Tucson Memorial Speech, January 12, 2011
For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind.
So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.
But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.
After all, that's what most of us do when we lose someone in our family - especially if the loss is unexpected. We're shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?
2 comments:
All too often, politicians act like they have all the answers. In President Obama’s fine speech in Tucson, he asks us to live with a mystery that may never be penetrated and that has no easy solution. He is not asking us to be passive, but rather to challenge assumptions, remain humble, listen to each other, and “expand our moral imaginations.”
I pray that each of us may hear these wise words and try to live up to them in our own way.
I was grateful to hear the President's speech, which I found riveting in its humility from the nation's leader in the wake of such a tragic event as the Arizona shootings. I add my voice in prayers "to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together." Awomen. Amen.
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