'We may not be able to stop all evil,' but 'how we treat one
another is entirely up to us'
TUCSON, Ariz. - In an appeal for national unity and soul-searching
after the Tucson shootings, President Barack Obama on
Wednesday night urged Americans to "expand our moral
imaginations" and "sharpen our instincts for empathy" — even
with those who are political adversaries.
"What we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to
turn on each other," he declared in a speech that was frequently
interrupted by applause and cheers from the audience.
He spoke at at a memorial service for those killed in a weekend
massacre that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., gravely
wounded. The shooting also killed six people and wounded 13.
In an electrifying moment, Obama revealed that Giffords, who
was shot in the head, had opened her eyes for the first time.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama had visited the wounded
lawmaker in her room, and he said that shortly after they left:
"Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you: She knows we are
here, she knows we love her, and she knows that we are rooting
for her ...."
Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband, sat beside the Obamas during the
ceremony.
Using the shootings to address the nation's spiritual state, the
president decried the small-minded nature of political debate. "If
this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make
sure it's worthy of those we have lost. Let's make sure it's not on
the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that
drifts away in the next news cycle."
At a time when "we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that
ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently
than we do," Obama said, the killings should make Americans ask
themselves "Have we shown enough kindness and generosity
and compassion to people in our lives?"
He referred to the peopl e killed on Saturday as members of "an
American family, 300 million strong." And he added, "Let ’s make
sure it's worthy of those we have lost," he said.
'They help me believe'
"Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help
me believe," Obama told the crowd. "We may not be able to stop
all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is
entirely up to us."
"As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good
dose of humility," the president said. "Rather than pointing fingers
or assigning blame, let's use this occasion to expand our moral
imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully... and remind
ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound
together...."
In contrast with his speech at a memorial service after Nidal
Hasan's killing spree at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009, Obama did not
mention seeing that the suspect in this case, Jared Lee Loughner,
met justice. "For what he has done, we know that the killer will be
met with justice — in this world, and the next," Obama said in his
Fort Hood speech.
He did refer to the Tucson gunman by saying, "None of us can
know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of can know
with any certainty what might have stopped these shots from
being fired or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a
violent man's mind."
Video: Obama: Gifford opened her eyes for the first
time
Police say Loughner shot Giffords and many in the line of people
waiting to talk with her during a constituent event outside a
Safeway story on Saturday. The attack ended when bystanders
tackled the gunman. Loughner is in jail facing federal charges.
In her remarks earlier in the memorial service, Arizona Gov. Jan
Brewer thanked Obama for coming to Arizona. “Your words have
been a source of comfort and strength to every Arizonan. Your
presence today serves as a reminder that we are not alone in our
sorrow. ”
“This state, bound together by prayer and action and hope and
faith, will not be shredded by one madman’s act of darkness,” she
said.
She quoted St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans, saying that the people
of Arizona would remain “rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation.”
Obama eulogizes each person killed
Obama's speech, by turns somber and hopeful, at times took on
the tone of an exuberant pep rally as he heralded the men who
wrestled the gunman to the ground, the woman who grabbed
the shooter's ammunition, the doctors and nurses who treated
the injured, the intern who rushed to Giffords' aid. The crowd
erupted in multiple standing ovations as each was singled out for
praise. The president ended up speaking for more than half an
hour, doubling the expected length of his comments.
He eulogized each of the people who were killed: federal Judge
John Roll; Dorothy Morris, whose husband, George, was
wounded; Phyllis Schneck; Dorwan Stoddard, who died shielding
his wife, Mavy, from the gunfire; Gabe Zimmerman, Gifford's
outreach director; and, finally, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green.
Video: Obama calls for unity in Tucson
Obama said that Christina "showed an appreciation for life
uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother,
"We are so blessed. We have the best life." And she'd pay those
blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children
who were less fortunate."
Christina had just been elected to the student council at her
elementary school and had an emerging interest in public service.
"I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to
be as good as she imagined it," Obama said. The little girl was
born on Sept. 11, 2001, and had been featured in a book about 50
babies born that day. The inscriptions near her photo spoke of
wishes for a happy child's life, including splashing in puddles.
Said Obama: "If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is
jumping in them today."
Video: Obama: 'What we can't do is use this tragedy as
one more occasion to turn on each other.'
An estimated 13,000 people crowded into the basketball arena at
the McKale Memorial Center for the ceremony, hugging and
consoling each other before it began. People cheered when
survivors or families of the victims arrived. Another 13,000 who
could not be accommodated inside instead watched the service
on television at Arizona Stadium.
Among the people attending the ceremony were Sens. John
McCain and Jon Kyl of Arizona, Supreme Court Justice Anthony
Kennedy, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and other local
and national figures.
Daniel Hernandez, a 20-year-old intern on Giffords' staff, was
honored as a hero for his actions after the attack credited with
possibly saving Giffords' life. Hernandez rejected the hero tag,
instead recognizing emergency workers who rushed to help
victims.
Afterward, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former
governor of Arizona, and Attorney General Eric Holder read from
the Bible.
A bipartisan delegation of lawmakers, including Rep. Ben Quayle,
R-Ariz., accompanied Obama on Air Force One in a sign of
solidarity. Quayle had called Obama the "worst president in
history."
Upon his arrival in Arizona, Obama headed straight to Rep.
Giffords' bedside.
Video: Pal: Mug shot shows ‘monster,’ not Loughner
Inside the intensive care unit at the hospital, Obama spent about
10 minutes with Giffords and her husband. He also met with four
other victims wounded in the shooting, including two of Giffords'
staff members. The president and the first lady also met with
members of the trauma resuscitation team who were the first
people to treat the victims.
Dr. Peter Rhee, chief of the trauma unit, led the Obamas' 45-
minute visit to the hospital.
On Capitol Hill earlier in the day, Giffords' House colleagues praised
her and the other shooting victims and insisted that violence
would not silence democracy.
"We will have the last word," declared new House Speaker John
Boehner, fighting back tears as he described Giffords' battle to
recover.
Source: Http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41043078/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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