President as a Nation Healer

[ajblakejr]

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God." Ronald Reagan

Forget politics.

Ronald Reagan touched my life.
He gave me hope and I will carry that hope all my life.
He opened my eyes beyond my small world.
I became interested in politics and that "we" could make a change in this world.

I listened to him that cold January day.
Not once did he mention politics.
Not once did he cast blame.

His voice was healing.
His words had no agenda, left or right, but to heal a nation.

I can't believe it was that long ago....and yet it seems like yesterday.

 

[fethrs]

I remember that...

Aj, again you post words of wisdom.

 

[ajblakejr]

Healing - Oklahoma Bombing

 

[klein]

 

[moreluck]

[video=youtube;ztbJmXQDIGA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztbJmXQDIGA[/video]

There's that first lady and her stupid cardigan again ! The pres. could've cut his speech by 15 mins. and been more effective.
His speech was not like Reagan's or Clinton's.......this pres. is not 'historic' to me....he's the Carter of the 2000's.

 

[bbsam]

Ya know, More, you could just give it a rest sometimes. We get it. Nothing this president does will ever be good to you.

 

[moreluck]

You're right, I could, but then you'd miss me !!!

 

[bbsam]

It's ok. Denying oneself is good for the soul.

 

[cachsux]

There's that first lady and her stupid cardigan again ! The pres. could've cut his speech by 15 mins. and been more effective.
His speech was not like Reagan's or Clinton's.......this pres. is not 'historic' to me....he's the Carter of the 2000's.

If it was one of your relatives laying there how would you have felt?

 

[moreluck]

If he ,she, Holder & Napolitano were there, I'd have to skip the event. It wasn't a funeral, it was a memorial. Trust me, I wouldn't be there!

 

[ajblakejr]

I read the context of the Obama's speech.
I feel I was too critical of the broadcast last night.
The speech is very good and well written.

My distress is with the tone and atmosphere of the venue.
The crowd behaved as an audience rather than a gathering of people seeking comfort.

I would have asked the crowd to restrain from outbursts.
I would have used different music to set a solemn mood.

Music is so very important and the library of songs available to the College Symphony Orchestra could have been better utilized.
In my experience, the sheet music for On Eagles Wings, Ava Maria or Amazing Grace is somewhere in their music library.

Below, an example of the power of music.

 

[moreluck]

I get the feeling that Obama knew it was going to be like a rally, with applause and hoots and hollers and he made his first speech for his 2012 campaign run.
I've never seen a memorial with t-shirts...that's more of a rally, college style. The venue was off......not at all intimate.

 

[klein]

I thought it was great.
Why walk out of there sadder then you came in ?

And in great detail described each victums lives.
They walked out there a lot happier, and comforted.

Did exactly what was needed, to heal !

 

[PT Stewie]

"My distress is with the tone and atmosphere of the venue.
The crowd behaved as an audience rather than a gathering of people seeking comfort.

I would have asked the crowd to restrain from outbursts.
I would have used different music to set a solemn mood."

Exactley ! AJ got it right !
PS Are we being to critical ?

 

[bbsam]

So the people in the audience did not respond correctly? Why not? Why not have a "pep rally" in a community getting over a tragedy? Was the New Orleans Super Bowl at all muted in a city still devastated by Katrina? That this president can evoke such positive energy is a good thing, so why be critical of it at all?

 

[Nimnim]

The speech itself wasn't "bad" so much as "longwinded." Were it shorter I'd find it more effective.

 

[PT Stewie]

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
​

I think it was a time to mourn not dance

 

[bbsam]

And the people of Tuscon disagreed. Maybe since they did it wrong, you could organize something in your own part of the country and show them how it's done. Easier just to criticize though.

 

[klein]

I on the other hand, took another step, and added Gaby to my fb, since this tragedy has happened.
I get updates on her health issues , and from her husband and family on how she is doing.

That's why, I suppose, I always get told I hate Americans, because, by fluke she's a democrat. - Could have been anyone else !
She deserves all the support she can get !

Here is the latest update on my fb (not much) :

Gabrielle Giffords
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those we've lost: Dorothy Morris, John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard, Christina Taylor Green and Gabe Zimmerman.

Giffords’s Husband Delivers a Message: ‘She’s a Fighter’
www.nytimes.com Mark Kelly, the husband of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, said she was “improving a little bit each day” as he spoke publicly for the first time since the shootings in Tucson. Her condition was upgraded.

 

[moreluck]

That's all well & good, but what about the 3000 other people who got shot last week......???