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2011-01-12 - Obama Remarks - Gabrielle Giffords - Tucson AZ
The White House has released the full prepared remarks of President Obama at
tonight's memorial in Tucson, Ariz.:
To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the
students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the
people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like
all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.
There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts.
But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the
fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that
Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy
pull through.
As Scripture tells us:
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered
outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free
speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our
founders - representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as
to carry their concerns to our nation's capital. Gabby called it "Congress on
Your Corner" - just an updated version of government of and by and for the
people.
That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman's
bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday - they too
represented what is best in America.
Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this
university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench
by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and
rose to become Arizona's chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as
the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from
attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to
his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three
sons, and his five grandchildren.
George and Dorothy Morris - "Dot" to her friends - were high school sweethearts
who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling
the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year
honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their
Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine,
instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.
A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in
the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3
children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter,
she'd often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos
of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A
Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.
Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together - about seventy years ago.
They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were
widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy's daughters put it,
"be boyfriend and girlfriend again." When they weren't out on the road in their
motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the
Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent
his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of
selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.
Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion - but his true passion was
people. As Gabby's outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her
constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they
had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government
was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved - talking with
people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and
Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next
year.
And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A
student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she
wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl
on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She 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.
Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken - and yet,
our hearts also have reason for fullness.
Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the
shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I
have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where
our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell
you this - she knows we're here and she knows we love her and she knows that we
will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey.
And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful
for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby's office who ran through the chaos to
minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful
for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for
a petite 61 year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer's
ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors
and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who'd been
hurt.
These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of
battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or
physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of
our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned - as it was on Saturday
morning.
Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It
raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is
required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to
their memory?
You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand
explanations - to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of
that which seems senseless. Already we've seen a national conversation commence,
not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from
the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much
of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the
future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.
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.
Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things
happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, "when I
looked for light, then came darkness." Bad things happen, and we must guard
against simple explanations in the aftermath.
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?
So sudden loss causes us to look backward - but it also forces us to look
forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we
live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us.
We may ask ourselves if we've shown enough kindness and generosity and
compassion to
the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our
children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We
recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have
on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but
rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering
the lives of others.
That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions
- that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were
harmed, those who were killed - they are part of our family, an American family
300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see
ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding
love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis
- she's our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize
not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who
embodied America's fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our
public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating,
sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a
more perfect union.
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. It should be because we want to
live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who
knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each
other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our
task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that
we bequeath the American dream to future generations.
I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here -
they help me believe. 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. I believe that for all
our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that
divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor
Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of
our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just
starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping
her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public
service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her
congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role
model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or
vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as
she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this
country lives up to our children's expectations.
Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that
day to be pictured in a book called "Faces of Hope." On either side of her photo
in that book were simple wishes for a child's life. "I hope you help those in
need," read one. "I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and
sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles."
If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And
here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as
Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy
spirit.
May God bless and keep those we've lost in restful and eternal peace. May He
love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of
America.
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