Excerpts from Presidents Speech in Tucson

[hd79]

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized – 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 think differently than we do – it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

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. http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/01/text-president-obamas-speech-tucson-memorial-service?utm_source=feedburner+BeltwayConfidential&utm_medium=feed+Beltway+Confidential&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BeltwayConfidential+%28Beltwa y+Confidential%29feed&utm_content=Twitterfeed&utm_term=Twitterfeed

[CosmicRocker]

sage words, and leadership from a man who is trying to call forcivility in our political speech.

Fuck him. Back to the bashing, it's so much more fun to descend into hatespeech. :lmao2:

[Udo Dirkschneider]

sage words

... from the guy working the teleprompter.

[CosmicRocker]

... from the guy working the teleprompter.
Obama wrote it himself -no speechwriters, took a long time, and redrafting.

[Udo Dirkschneider]

Obama wrote it himself -no speechwriters, took a long time, and redrafting.

Ok, then it's all legit I guess.

[hd79]

sage words, and leadership from a man who is trying to call forcivility in our political speech.

Fuck him. Back to the bashing, it's so much more fun to descend into hatespeech. :lmao2:

Of that, I have little doubt.

perhaps another excerpt, this one concerning Christina Green is in order:


And in Christina…in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.
So deserving of our love.
And so deserving of our good example. 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 with the next news cycle.
The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud