Do we really want to make things better?
We have the choice now to react to this tragedy with hatred and attempts at vilification—or to respond to it with great compassion and love.
In the aftermath of the horrifying tragedy in Tucson, many of us may feel paralyzed by shock, outrage and confusion. How could this have happened? Why did it happen? Who is responsible? Our minds seek answers while our hearts grieve.
Beyond the unending stream of news and opinion posts about the tragedy, there is the actual suffering of people directly affected by the shooting: the survivors of the Tucson attack, the family members and friends of the slain, the family members and friends of the survivors. Additionally, millions of people throughout the world are feeling appalled, bewildered and sickened in response to learning of the shooting.
What can we do?
We can send condolences and messages of support to the family members of the victims.
We can contribute to and spread the word about the Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship Fund.
Certainly, we can pray, meditate and send wishes of healing to those directly affected by the shooting.
We can also try to learn from the tragedy in the hopes of preventing more tragedies.
My suggestion:
Unite and strike at hatred through service.
Conservatives, independents and liberals—all of us can serve our communities alongside one another. This is not a time to allow our hatred, intolerance and biases to overcome us. It is a time to come together in acts of altruism.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Later that day, Robert Kennedy gave a speech in Indianapolis about the assassination in which he stated:
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
He told the audience that King sought to:
Replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
We have the choice now to react to this tragedy with hatred and attempts at vilification—or to respond to it with great compassion and love.
Representative Giffords’ favorite quote is reportedly one from President Abraham Lincoln:
With malice toward none, with charity for all,…let us strive on to finish the work we are in,…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
In responding to this tragedy, we can heed the wisdom of King’s question:
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is “what are you doing for others?”
What can you do for others? Find a service project through any of web portals listed below. Serve on the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, January 17. Give freely of your time to those in need in your community. Turn off the news for a while and commit to making a difference.
Resources:
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