The Gettysburgh Address vs. violence in these United States

The Capitol of the U.S.A.

Last night, the President of the United States delivered the most difficult speech made by a politician since Senator Ted Kennedy eulogized his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, at a service held at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, June 8, 1968.

Just a few days after his brother was brutally assassinated, Teddy gave a speech, not as a fellow United States Senator, but the younger Kennedy spoke more of his older brother and described his brother's viewpoint on life in such a famous family.

Said Teddy of Bobby with Ted's voice literally shaking from his distraught emotional state of mind: 

"He gave us strength in times of trouble, wisdom in times of uncertainty, and sharing in times of happiness. He was always by our side."

He continued: "Love is not an easy feeling to put into words. Nor is loyalty, or trust or joy. But he was all of these. He loved life completely and lived it intensely."

"A few years back, Robert Kennedy wrote some words about his own father and they expressed the way we in his family feel about him. He said of what his father meant to him: "What it really all adds up to is love – not love as it is described with such facility in popular magazines, but the kind of love that is affection and respect, order, encouragement, and support. Our awareness of this was an incalculable source of strength, and because real love is something unselfish and involves sacrifice and giving, we could not help but profit from it.

"Beneath it all, he has tried to engender a social conscience. There were wrongs which needed attention. There were people who were poor and who needed help. And we have a responsibility to them and to this country. Through no virtues and accomplishments of our own, we have been fortunate enough to be born in the United States under the most comfortable conditions. We, therefore, have a responsibility to others who are less well off."

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President Barack Obama was asked to speak at a multi-faith service in Newtown, Connecticut to begin the mourning process for the small New England community and the large nation it represents so well.

President Obama's Sunday evening speech, tucked in between remarks by clergymen of all faiths, will become known as the Gettysburgh Address vs. Violence and it could very well go down in history as Obama's contribution to worldwide society, if and only if, he can use his power and the power of the executive branch of the US Government to create change. He will need to create change in the stubborn minds of a nation of stubborn people, along with those and their "living in the past" politicians who wave the flag, if and only if, the act fits their own selfish agendas.

The President tipped his hand, as he noted, it is not one law, nor one set of laws nor many other things that become excuses for inaction.  He simply stated, "we have to do a better job" and we have to start somewhere, not tonight, but tomorrow.  Yes, first thing Monday morning.  

Let's Go.

Here are a few snippets from the speech - and, full video and a transcript will be provided, in case you missed it or its 10,000 replays on cable tv news.

"This job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together," he told the hushed audience. "This is our first task: taking care of our children.

It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right."

He then asked whether "we as a nation" are meeting that obligation.

"The answer is no, and we will have to change," he said.

 Obama said this was the fourth mass shooting during his presidency, and there were countless other acts of gun violence on a smaller scale."We can't tolerate this anymore," he said. "These tragedies must end, and to end them we must change."