Via facebook:
America’s Enduring Strengthby Sarah Palin on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 5:52am
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
Beautifully written, Sarah. You go, girl!
After my shamefull vanity late last night, I am not sure if I should cry, smile, hang my head in shame or just go have some warm oatmeal.
Thank you Sarah.
I am so sorry for doubting your courage and your humility as well..
not a mistake I will make again
where did this woman come from...
The core of the response. Amen, Gov. Palin.
Thanks for posting this.
Now we know why.
There are situations when events allow for quiet, prayerful reflection. This was one of them, and the fact that Palin was the only one to take advantage of that opportunity speaks to me of her leadership qualities.
Good job.
I’ve never loved her more than I do right now. I’ve been defending her on Facebook and with phone calls to radio programs with such vigor that I haven’t had time to stop and really reflect on how SHE must be feeling. I’ve thought about it, but it just really hit me as I was reading this, and I literally began weeping. I would imagine it’s been horrifying for her, and despite the fact that she appears to be a strong woman, probably a very emotional time as well. There was a scene in Sarah Palin’s Alaska where she was talking about her nephew that was on the show that night who had Down’s Syndrome like her son. She spoke to the camera and talked about how seeing this boy made her reflect on what life will be like for Trig in the future, and she began to cry as she said it. That was the real Sarah Palin, and I would imagine that side of her has been visible to her family in recent days.
Please join me in praying for her and her family. They need it.
God Bless you, protect you and Guide you Gov Sarah! A real Lady.
Wow. I knew she would have the right words and once again, Sarah did not disappoint.
Thank You, Sarah. And God Bless.
WOW!!! Sarah now has my full support if she decides to serve our country. I was on the fence but no more. This response was very Presidential and reminded me of speeches Reagan would give such as the horrific Challenger accident. WOW!!!
I've not seen it yet, but I'll watch after I get out from behind the "company's" firewall.
This is one hell of a speech. Both she and her writers are to be commended!
This speech...and this alone...may just have turned the tide.
What an incredible statement!!! It is the most powerful one in the entire speech (and there were plenty!).
It put the little tin god exactly where he belongs...on the defensive.
And it took a Tea Party conservative future President to do it!
Where in the heck are the RINO "front runners"??? The old, tired, same-o, same-o losers from 2008? Quiet! And that is as it should be.
All of them are now trying to come up with a response that can come even close to SPs ... and they'll fail. Their best and only response is to shut up and hope this blows over.
But it won't. I believe the Mama Grizzly has finally come out of hibernation. The 2012 Presidential campaign starts now.
Great, great speech, delivered absolutely pitch perfect.
As I said on the other thread that I happened upon first ; } I do think Sarah is great, but have had the wait and see what develops mindset, presidentially speakin’...
But speeches like that, voicing the thoughts and beliefs that so many Americans have, delivered with such quiet, reasoned strength, sure does go a long way in the right direction.
May God bless us, every one.
Tatt
Great post by Sarah!
I haven't heard anything as presidential from any politician in so many years. She needs to be in the White House!
Thank you for posting this.
Thank you very much, misharu!!!
Well thought out and reasoned.