It is difficult to imagine an inspiring story coming out of a vicious act like the Tucson shootings yet time and again throughout our nation’s history Americans have risen to the occasion in the face of senseless tragedy.
So here are a few things that, improbably, perhaps, inspired me in the week since Gabrielle Giffords was shot and 19 others killed or wounded in a Safeway parking lot during a community meet-and-greet the congresswoman held last Saturday.
*Americans come together in times of national need.
I was amazed but not surprised by how most people put aside politics and prejudice to mourn and decry this terrible act. President Obama’s speech was praised from almost all quarters for its compassion and humanity. Yet the success of that speech had as much to do with the people hearing it as the man saying it. The president articulated what we are all feeling.
*The inspirational lives of ordinary people.
Hearing the president’s evocation of the six people who died at the hands of the deranged gunman, who could help but be inspired by how they lived? To a person they were committed to serving their communities, to reaching outside themselves to help others. They were churchgoers and spiritual people, volunteers and activists. One couple had been married for four decades. Another had come together late in life. One of the husbands gave his life shielding his beloved from the barrage of bullets. Another victim, a 9-year-old girl, came to the event in order to understand more about the democratic process. They all lived good lives. These people were exceptional but also typical of the citizens who make up this country.
*No shortage of heroes.
One young man ran toward the sound of gunfire rather than away, thereby helping to save the congresswoman’s life. An older woman helped disarm and subdue the young gunman. Others came rushing to her aid heedless of their own safety. The cops and the EMTs, the doctors and nurses, all worked valiantly to save lives. The fact that only six died in the onslaught is a miracle.
*The power of prayer.
Prayer was the first and best thing we as Americans turned to in the hours following the attack. Prayer unified us in a common purpose and resolve.
*The power of love.
Even when hate lashes out, love is stronger. The president called for us to express our love to family and friends more freely in this time of tragedy; most of us already had. And what can account for Representative Giffords’s astounding recovery more than the love her family and friends and colleagues—indeed the whole country has poured forth for her? The power of love heals.
It has been a long week, a week that has broken hearts but inspired them as well. Our country has proved again that evil is conquered by good.
