Just last Saturday, I moved from electronic device to electronic device keeping myself abreast of the situation in Arizona. I was horrified, along with the rest of the nation and the world, to learn that one of our elected officials had been shot while serving her constituents. As well as the other 6 people who were killed and the 13 who were wounded attending the meeting.
So today I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the six murdered victims:
Christina Taylor Green
Judge John Roll
Gabe Zimmerman
Dorwin Stoddard
Dorothy Morris
Phyllis Scheck
I am grateful for the progress that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is making and thankful that the assassin is behind bars. I'm also grateful that our President spoke to the heart of our nation, soothing our wounds with these words:
"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," Obama said.
"Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding," he said. " ... Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath."
"What we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another," he said later.
Today during the celebration of the man who encouraged non-violent protest for change, I add my voice to the voices that say discourse is fine but can we please be civil with one other? Can we agree to disagree? Can we understand that we all want a better America? And finally, can we continue to honor the tenants this great man stood for?
I would like to end with a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."
We should all strive for peace...
Amen.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed, Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteWell put.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
ReplyDeletePacifism is anything but passive.
Lucy (a new reader)
Amen.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad situation, but I don't know that civility could have helped. Someone capable of such horrific acts clearly doesn't think the way 'normal', civil people do. But for the rest of us, a good dose of civility will never go out of style.
ReplyDeleteMLK Day isn't celebrated here (and sadly, very little of his legacy is taught here, either), but I made a point of studying him on my own and consider him a true inspiration.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteAmen, and Amen.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carolyn, for sharing your thoughts along with reiterating the wise words of two profoundly wise leaders.
ReplyDeleteBeatiful. The Rev Dr King would be proud.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteAnother "Amen" to your thoughts that you so eloquently expressed. It doesn't sem fair that you are talented in so many areas of life. I am blessed to have found your blog. God bless you!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed. From the coverage here in New Zealand it does appear that this was the tragic act of a mentally ill person, but I second your call for peace and civility.
ReplyDeleteEven here on the other side of the world, MLK is an inspiration.
Thank you for your words.
Amen from me too. I am thankful for a forum where we can share our joys and sorrows with everyone. Sad that this type of incident repeats around the world. Thank you for the positive and thoughtful message.
ReplyDeleteLynda in LV
As I commented on a different post, I was so mad when my mother, a single mother of three, allowed me to attend the march on Washington in '63, but not Woodstock. She was very wise.
ReplyDeleteI used to say that, as a nation, we would all come together in a severe crisis. Damn the culture differences. Damn the idealogical differences. Damn the other hundreds of sociological and racial and ethnic and economic and religious divides. But, I am not so sure anymore.
Anymore, I just don't know. Maybe I have lived too long. And seen John and Martin and Bobbie taken from us too soon and with nobody here to remember anymore.
Mine eyes have seen............
Very well said. Thank you. K
ReplyDeleteWell said, every word. PEACE.
ReplyDelete