Monday, December 17, 2012

Katie's 12 Days Of Christmas

Saturday night "Saturday Night Live" paid tribute to the victims of the Newtown shootings with a rare serious opening by the New York Children's Chorus.

"Silent Night"

link

Observations 12.17

Last night President Obama made a speech at a prayer vigil in Newtown, Connecticut. It was a good speech, maybe one of his best, or maybe it was just the moment. Either way it was the best I have ever heard on the subject, again maybe the moment. One thing I didn't realize until today was that he made the entire speech without even once using the word that the speech was primarily about. He never said the word gun ....

"This is our first task, caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer’s no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change. Since I've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings, fourth time we've hugged survivors, the fourth time we've consoled the families of victims.

And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and in big cities all across America, victims whose -- much of the time their only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. We can’t tolerate this anymore.

These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change."

You can read the entire speech here.