Reflections On A Memorial

By Semperpapa

When President Obama took the stage at the University of Arizona to memorialize the victims of Saturday's massacre, I was listening on the radio, unable to watch any images from work.

The first thing that struck me as odd was the reaction of the crowd as he took the podium. The applause, the "we love you" screams, caused me to have a strange reaction: is this a memorial or is this a campaign rally?

I was then able to only hear few of the first lines delivered by the President, and I could almost hear somewhat of an underlined call to order in the tone of Obama, as if the outburst from the crowd were so out of place in the context of the occasion that it caused the President a certain level of embarrassment. Again, those were gut impressions.

I did not have the chance of hearing or watching the rest of the speech, moreover I prefer to always read transcripts of Obama speeches than actually watch him speak. There is a level of arrogance in the man's delivery that I am not fond of.

From reading the speech, I must commend the President for the content of his remarks. He touched on the very core of the significance of the tragedy and of the moment.

There is one sentence of the speech that sort of encompass my thoughts about what has occurred in Tucson:

"If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make sure it's worthy of those we have lost."

Ultimately, the true essence of a Nation like the United States is the ability of its people to express their support or grievances in a peaceful manner. That is the single most significant reason why our great Country has been able to remain the international beacon of freedom for an entire planet, just as tyranny and oppression has swept every other part of the globe at one time or another.

From our Military bleeding and dieing on foreign soil for the freedom of others to the sacrifice of our own citizens on our soil, the omnipresent reality remains that the United States still remains the synonym of liberty and excellence.

I agree that we have not reached the ever elusive point of perfection, but in the race toward that unreachable target we are in a much greater position of achievement.

I was indeed positively impressed with the words of the President, as they were exactly what our wounded Nation needed to move forward from the darkness of the massacre in Tucson. My only concern, and what keeps me in a status of “wait and see”, is the real aftermath of the massacre.

Words are cheap and easy to speak, especially when formulated by a small army of speech writers, but what is important is the action that comes after the last echo of words is gone, when the emotions of the moment are toned down.

Only the future will answer my doubts. It is saddening to have lost the faith in elected officials, but the inflammatory and castigating words of the last few days from many who are in charge of preserving our constitutional rights, remain a looming testimony to a direction for the Country that is in stark opposition with the principles of our Nation itself.

Just my thoughts!