Speak in a way that heals, not wounds: Obama

Washington, Jan 13: US President Barack Obama with Michelle, visited Tuscon in Arizona, canceling all his pre-scheduled programmes, on Wednesday, Jan 12. Obama visited Arizona to personally mourn for the victims, those were killed in deadly shooting rampage.

Obama requested Americans to forget all their divisions to honor those attacked in Arizona street fire, by becoming a better country. He (Obama) also visited the hospital in which US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, is battling for her life. Gabrielle was shot at the back of her head from a close range during the open fire.

"For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this cruel attack that left six people dead, 13 others wounded and the nation shaken. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind," Obama said.

"So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future," Obama said to a crowd at the University of Arizona basketball area.

Obama said, "at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do , it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds."

OneIndia News