BARACK Obama has urged Americans not to turn on one another with political point-scoring in the wake of the Arizona mass shooting as he leads his nation’s grief.
Speaking a special memorial service in Tucson today to honour the people killed and wounded by a lone gunman at the weekend, the US President called for national unity rather than “pointing fingers or assigning blame”.
One by one, Mr Obama named the six victims murdered as Democrat congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords held a constituents meeting outside a local supermarket.
He described something of the victims’ lives he had learned from talking to their families, concluding with nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, who was born on the day of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
“Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing,” he said. “Our hearts are broken _ and yet our hearts also have reason for fullness.”
The President said he had visiting surviving victims in hospital before attending the memorial, including Ms Giffords, whom he said had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after he visited her.
The President said he had visiting surviving victims in hospital before attending the memorial, including Ms Giffords, whom he said had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after he visited her.
“Gabby opened her eyes,” he said. “So I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her, through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey.”
Mr Obama said Americans were grateful to a 61-year-old woman who wrestled away ammunition from the gunman, and to two men who tackled him and stopped further carnage.
He also praised the doctors and nurses who had helped save lives.
“These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle,” Mr Obama said.
“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.”
The President asked, rhetorically, how Americans could honour the memory of the fallen and 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.”
Shooting suspect Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old believed to be mentally disturbed, is in custody in Arizona and faces murder and attempted murders charges after the weekend shootings.
Over the past week, political debate in the US has focused on whether the shooting rampage might have been influenced by the extremes of political rhetoric in public discourse.
Politicians including former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin have been criticised for using gun imagery. Ms Palin has dismissed the criticism in a video on her Facebook page.
Mr Obama said: “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarised _ 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.”
According to the President, sudden loss forced people to reflect on their lives and whether they had shown enough kindness and generosity.
“Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognise 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.
Speaking of nine-year-old Christina, whom he described as “so curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic,” Mr Obama said he wanted America “to be as good as she imagined it”.
The President received rapturous applause.
Other speakers at the memorial, held inside a basketball stadium at the University of Arizona, included Attorney-General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary and former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano and current Arizona governor Jan Brewer.
“Gabby opened her eyes,” he said. “So I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her, through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey.”
Mr Obama said Americans were grateful to a 61-year-old woman who wrestled away ammunition from the gunman, and to two men who tackled him and stopped further carnage.
He also praised the doctors and nurses who had helped save lives.
“These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle,” Mr Obama said.
“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.”
The President asked, rhetorically, how Americans could honour the memory of the fallen and 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.”
Shooting suspect Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old believed to be mentally disturbed, is in custody in Arizona and faces murder and attempted murders charges after the weekend shootings.
Over the past week, political debate in the US has focused on whether the shooting rampage might have been influenced by the extremes of political rhetoric in public discourse.
Politicians including former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin have been criticised for using gun imagery. Ms Palin has dismissed the criticism in a video on her Facebook page.
Mr Obama said: “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarised _ 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.”
According to the President, sudden loss forced people to reflect on their lives and whether they had shown enough kindness and generosity.
“Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognise 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.
Speaking of nine-year-old Christina, whom he described as “so curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic,” Mr Obama said he wanted America “to be as good as she imagined it”.
The President received rapturous applause.
Other speakers at the memorial, held inside a basketball stadium at the University of Arizona, included Attorney-General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary and former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano and current Arizona governor Jan Brewer.
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