As I reread the text of President Obama's speech at the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona, for those who died in the shootings, I cried all over again - so many fine and eloquent moments in one speech. The cadences, the repetition of key phrases demonstrate his mastery of the art of speech-making. Most of all, his words seemed sincere and to come from his heart. Today, I note especially the words below:
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. (Applause.)
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’re doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.
We recognize our own mortality, and we 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 — (applause)– and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. (Applause.)
And that process—that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions—that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.
I think of the times that I was impatient with the president in his many efforts to forge alliances with Republicans. And I realize now that's the sort of man the president is, a man who will try, in the face of seemingly impossible odds, to find common ground and establish bonds with those who oppose nearly all of his ideas and policies. And he will continue his efforts, and perhaps that's the kind of president we need now. More and more, I see Barack Obama as the man for the hour.
It was a beautiful and memorable speech. I couldn't agree with you more....I too, see Barack Obama as the man for the hour. He reminded me of the Barack Obama I voted for.
ReplyDeleteHave to agree Mimi, he also seems to always be 3 steps ahead of everybody else. In hindsight many things he's done make more sense.
ReplyDeleteYes, a beautiful speech. Obama is a great man and I suspect that more of his success will be seen in hindsight than in real time.
ReplyDeleteI was dismayed by some FB friends upset about all the applause, suggesting that this was less a memorial service and more of a political rally. And these are politically liberal friends! But the lines are blurred, and have been.... a political assassination (despite David Brooks' protestations), a political response, and yet many people in our country do want the president to be preacher-in-chief when the situation calls for it. (Remember GWB at Ground Zero.)
I hope we don't need to hear more of this particular eloquence from the President, but I was proud yesterday and remain proud today, along with you.
I'm pleased y'all agree. And in his first two terms, Obama accomplished quite a lot of good stuff.
ReplyDeletePenny, I've heard about the whiners. I believe I'll post and link to Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin, who lives in Tucson. He say if the event was a memorial and a rally, so be it. The folks in Tucson (at least some of them) needed a memorial AND a rally.
Yes. I have listened to it twice now. I came in from choir practice and had missed it, so I searched for a link to the speech and several links existed. I think I was actually too tired to really listen, and I was upset that the C-span link cut into the applause at the end very abruptly. This morning I watched the whole memorial. I felt it was the right mix. And President Obma did what The President should do. Not only did he make the victims more than victims by talking about each one, he set an example for the rest of us with his assurance that we all can be better people.
ReplyDeleteItalians applaud in church all the time, even at funerals.
ReplyDeleteSo, what's the problem?
Once again, it seems I've underestimated Barack Obama.
"Once again, it seems I've underestimated Barack Obama."
ReplyDeleteDid you put that on Facebook, Doug? ;-)
Susan, Grandpère and I agree Obama had it just right. We watched in separate rooms but visited back and forth to exclaim about how great the speech was.
ReplyDeleteTake heart, Counterlight, I'm guilty of underestimation, too. It's much better to be wrong in company than alone.
First two YEARS,Mimi. He's only halfway through the first term.
ReplyDeleteHe's a smart guy. He's a great, great orator. He hit exactly the right note. I'm just not sanguine that the other side hasn't already jumped the shark. And I fear he brings a feather to a knife fight, even if it be a quill pen.
I fear sometimes that history will see him as a far greater president than those living in this era.
Yes, Perfesser IT, two YEARS. That's what I meant. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you're right. History will judge Obama much more kindly than we do. Further, I resolve to mend my ways of harsh judgment starting now.
I fear sometimes that history will see him as a far greater president than those living in this era.
ReplyDeleteFear? Meaning?
No comment.
ReplyDeleteJCF, IT should answer your question.
ReplyDeleteWe don't appreciate our president is what I'm saying.
And MadPriest, you will have to day what you mean by your "No comment" comment.
No, I don't.
ReplyDeleteWell, then don't.
ReplyDeleteI didn't write this in response to a FB comment that the person was disappointed and put off by Obama's discourse. I want to say our president is not a preacher. But he did a fabulous job. As for the clapping and whistling? It is life in death. It is letting out pent-up energy. People laugh sometimes when something is said in a eulogy. Why should this have been different? Oh well. There will always be malcontents. C'est la vie. I think Obama did a great job.
ReplyDeleteIt is letting out pent-up energy.
ReplyDeleteCaminante, exactly. My sisters and I got a bad case of the giggles at the funeral home when we were picking our our father's coffin. We were terribly embarrassed to be laughing in front of the representative, but the more we tried to control ourselves, the more we giggled.
That's a bit Southern gothic, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, MadPriest.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you scare me.
ReplyDeleteMadPriest, you need a good scare from time to time. Lucky you that I'm around to supply your need.
ReplyDeleteThat my father often mocked "the American way of death" with the fancy, expensive coffins, didn't help. In addition, the rep was a ghoul, who insisted on showing us the priciest coffins in the place, even after we told him that we wanted something simple - I suppose to make us feel guilty and cheap.
Giggling at funerals is sort of a Southern (gothic?) thing. It's like visitors from up North, especially from larger cities, who come to St. Pat's or St. Paul's here and see people hugging and talking and laughing when they come into the church - it seems irreverent, but it's our way of being family.
ReplyDeleteMy family is . . . lucky? . . . we have a family mortuary who's handled all our funerals, and Bucky (yes, our family mortician is named Bucky) and his folks know what we can afford, and don't use those soft, creepy voices with us.
...it seems irreverent, but it's our way of being family..
ReplyDeleteMark, you're right. And besides, I've never claimed that my family was anything other than Tennessee Williams material.
I suppose the man who "helped" us was called a funeral director, but he seemed much more like a salesman, and, in the end, we asked for him to be taken off our service. My father was a veteran, and when we had chosen the simple, inexpensive coffin, the "funeral director" said, "Well, it doesn't matter; no one will see it, because it will be covered by the flag.".