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WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED FROM CELEBRATING THE GREATNESS OF OUR COUNTRY |
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Written by Sarah Palin
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Wednesday, 12 January 2011 |
[Note: the video of Sarah Palin's
address to the nation regarding the Arizona Massacre is below.]
Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona
on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the
hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims'
families as we express our sympathy.
I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass
held in honor of the victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing
process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country.
Our exceptional nation, so vibrant with ideas and the passionate exchange
and debate of ideas, is a light to the rest of the world. Congresswoman
Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to exchange ideas
that day, to celebrate our Republic's core values and peacefully assemble to
petition our government. It's inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single
evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day.
There is a bittersweet irony that the strength of the American spirit shines
brightest in times of tragedy. We saw that in Arizona.
We saw the tenacity of those clinging to life, the compassion of those who kept
the victims alive, and the heroism of those who overpowered a deranged gunman.
Like many, I've spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and
praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled,
then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from
people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.
President Reagan said, "We must reject
the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the
lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is
accountable for his actions."
Acts of monstrous criminality stand on
their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not
collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to
talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of
the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First
Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the
last election.
The last election was all about taking responsibility for our country's
future. President Obama and I may not agree on everything, but I know he would
join me in affirming the health of our democratic process. Two years ago his
party was victorious. Last November, the other party won. In both elections the
will of the American people was heard, and the peaceful transition of power
proved yet again the enduring strength of our Republic.
Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most
cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back
to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If
you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that
vision. If you don't like their ideas, you're free to propose better ideas.
But, especially within hours of a
tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel
that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to
condemn. That is reprehensible.
There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable
act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political
debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated?
Back in those "calm days" when political figures literally settled their
differences with dueling pistols?
In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements
cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren't designing a system for
perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be
no need for government. Our Founders' genius was to design a system that
helped settle the inevitable conflicts caused by our imperfect
passions in civil ways. So, we must condemn violence if our Republic is to
endure.
As I said while campaigning for others last March in Arizona
during a very heated primary race, "We know violence isn't the answer. When we
‘take up our arms', we're talking about our vote." Yes, our debates are full of
passion, but we settle our political differences respectfully at the ballot box
- as we did just two months ago, and as our Republic enables us to do again in
the next election, and the next.
That's who we are as Americans and how we were meant to be. Public discourse
and debate isn't a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength. It is part of
why America is
exceptional.
No one should be deterred from
speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be
deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped
from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by
those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and
seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults.
Just days before she was shot, Congresswoman Giffords read the First
Amendment on the floor of the House. It was a beautiful moment and more than
simply "symbolic," as some claim, to have the Constitution read by our
Congress. I am confident she knew that reading our sacred charter of liberty
was more than just "symbolic."
But less than a week after Congresswoman Giffords reaffirmed our protected
freedoms, another member of Congress announced that he would propose a law that
would criminalize speech he found offensive.
It is in the hour when our values are challenged that we must remain
resolved to protect those values. Recall how the events of 9-11 challenged our
values and we had to fight the tendency to trade our freedoms for perceived
security. And so it is today.
Let us honor those precious lives cut
short in Tucson by praying for them and their families and
by cherishing their memories. Let us pray for the full recovery of the wounded.
And let us pray for our country. In times like this we need God's guidance and
the peace He provides. We need strength to not let the random acts of a
criminal turn us against ourselves, or weaken our solid foundation, or provide
a pretext to stifle debate.
America must
be stronger than the evil we saw displayed last week. We are better than the
mindless finger-pointing we endured in the wake of the tragedy.
We will come out of this stronger and more united in our desire to
peacefully engage in the great debates of our time, to respectfully embrace our
differences in a positive manner, and to unite in the knowledge that, though
our ideas may be different, we must all strive for a better future for our
country. May God bless America.
Sarah Palin
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