Expectations

There's a lot of reasons to question the state of the country and the world right now.  Just in the last few weeks we've seen thousands of blackbirds falling out of the sky in Alabama, hundreds of people killed in flooding in Brazil, millions of American still unemployed and underemployed, cops tampering with evidence in a rape case in Florida, Ted Williams -- the homeless man turned internet star -- getting sent to rehab, and the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.  A year after a devestating earthquake all but leveled the country and killed over 200,000 people, over a million Haitians remain without homes, schools and basic infrastructure, and thousands more have been struck by the cholera epidemic sweeping the country.

Perhaps most poignant this week, was the tragedy in Arizona, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd gathered in a supermarket to meet their Congresswoman.  Almost immediately after the incident, elected officials, journalists and pundits began pointing fingers and casting blame for the actions of this disturbed young man, further fanning the flames of partisanship even as they blamed violent political rhetoric for poisoning our civility.

Last night, though, President Obama sought to begin our national healing with a speech at the memorial service for the victims in Tucson.  The president's oratorical gifts have long been lauded and last night he was at his best.  His speech managed to honor the victims, praise the heroes and give me hope for the future by articulating a vision of national unity that rises above violence and bitterness.

In remembering the shooting youngest victim, nine year-old Christina Taylor Green, he said:

"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."

Despite all the reasons to question the world, President Obama reminds us about the power of our democracy.  I, too, hope that we can live up to our children's expectations, and our own.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to President Obama's speech, you can listen or read it here.

xo kate