“It is important to take a minute and make sure we are talking
with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.”
President Obama speaking at the Tucson Memorial on January 12, 2011

On January 12, 2011 a memorial service was held here in Tucson for the victims of the shooting incident that claimed several lives and critically injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Last night, Tucson and the state of Arizona, along with people around the country and perhaps around the world came together in a heartfelt way. Thousands of people showed up for the service. It was powerful to see a community of people who came together to find a way to heal the shock and pain of such a violent event.

In the President’s speech here in Tucson, Arizona he said:

…We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved — and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better…

…We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations.

They believed — they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here –- they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that’s entirely up to us.

And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us…

Then seeing this article below suggests to me that there is a heart opening in the world that is inspiring a growing consciousness that we are all in this together. And so it IS!

Muslim and Christian, Egyptians stand together against violence

Maggie Koerth-Baker

“On New Year’s Eve, a Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt was attacked by suicide bombers. For those Coptic Christians, the bombing came with a lot of added tension. Their Christmas, like that of several other Christian sects outside the Western Catholic/Protestant divide, falls after the New Year. Many expected further bombings on that holiday. Here’s what happened, instead…

“Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

“From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as ‘human shields’ for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

“‘We either live together, or we die together’, was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural center distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the ‘human shield’ idea.

“‘This is not about us and them’, said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. ‘We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.’”