President Obama’s brave, tough, fair and unified approach to his remarks at the Dallas Memorial for the five officers who were slain was another opportunity to get to know this President and what drives him.
The President was up late last night consulting scripture for inspiration. This is probably a shock to Republicans who insist upon denying that the President is a Christian.
From the press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Dallas:
Q I didn’t hear you — did you say he was staying up last night reading the Bible?
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MR. EARNEST: The President worked late into the night last night consulting Scripture to write the remarks. He was able to draw on some material that his speechwriting team had prepared for him. But the remarks that the President will deliver tonight, or this afternoon, reflect his own thoughts that he put to paper last night.
Q Do you know what he was reading in particular?
MR. EARNEST: Beyond consulting Scripture, I don’t know what other material he drew upon for the remarks.
President Obama specifically mentioned the First John in his remarks and according to Reverend Robert Franek, “He cited and alluded to passages from Ezekiel, John, Romans (framed remarks), and 1 John, all in context too.”
But you don’t have to know scripture to recognize the moral leadership inherent in Obama’s remarks. He tried in every way possible to show us how we are united. There is nothing more Christian than that.
A few of the President’s remarks, in which he says we are all children of God:
I know that Americans are struggling right now with what we’ve witnessed over the past week. First, the shootings in Minnesota and Baton Rouge, and the protests, then the targeting of police by the shooter here — an act not just of demented violence but of racial hatred. All of it has left us wounded, and angry, and hurt. It’s as if the deepest fault lines of our democracy have suddenly been exposed, perhaps even widened. And although we know that such divisions are not new — though they have surely been worse in even the recent past — that offers us little comfort.
Faced with this violence, we wonder if the divides of race in America can ever be bridged. We wonder if an African-American community that feels unfairly targeted by police, and police departments that feel unfairly maligned for doing their jobs, can ever understand each other’s experience. We turn on the TV or surf the Internet, and we can watch positions harden and lines drawn, and people retreat to their respective corners, and politicians calculate how to grab attention or avoid the fallout. We see all this, and it’s hard not to think sometimes that the center won’t hold and that things might get worse.
I understand. I understand how Americans are feeling. But, Dallas, I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds. (Applause.) I know we’ll make it because of what I’ve experienced in my own life, what I’ve seen of this country and its people — their goodness and decency –as President of the United States. And I know it because of what we’ve seen here in Dallas — how all of you, out of great suffering, have shown us the meaning of perseverance and character, and hope.
When the bullets started flying, the men and women of the Dallas police, they did not flinch and they did not react recklessly. They showed incredible restraint. Helped in some cases by protesters, they evacuated the injured, isolated the shooter, and saved more lives than we will ever know. (Applause.) We mourn fewer people today because of your brave actions. (Applause.) “Everyone was helping each other,†one witness said. “It wasn’t about black or white. Everyone was picking each other up and moving them away.†See, that’s the America I know.
The police helped Shetamia Taylor as she was shot trying to shield her four sons. She said she wanted her boys to join her to protest the incidents of black men being killed. She also said to the Dallas PD, “Thank you for being heroes.†And today, her 12-year old son wants to be a cop when he grows up. That’s the America I know. (Applause.)
In the aftermath of the shooting, we’ve seen Mayor Rawlings and Chief Brown, a white man and a black man with different backgrounds, working not just to restore order and support a shaken city, a shaken department, but working together to unify a city with strength and grace and wisdom. (Applause.) And in the process, we’ve been reminded that the Dallas Police Department has been at the forefront of improving relations between police and the community. (Applause.) The murder rate here has fallen. Complaints of excessive force have been cut by 64 percent. The Dallas Police Department has been doing it the right way. (Applause.) And so, Mayor Rawlings and Chief Brown, on behalf of the American people, thank you for your steady leadership, thank you for your powerful example. We could not be prouder of you. (Applause.)
These men, this department — this is the America I know. And today, in this audience, I see people who have protested on behalf of criminal justice reform grieving alongside police officers. I see people who mourn for the five officers we lost but also weep for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In this audience, I see what’s possible — (applause) — I see what’s possible when we recognize that we are one American family, all deserving of equal treatment, all deserving of equal respect, all children of God. That’s the America that I know.
Obama didn’t take the easy way out; he led bravely. He did not hesitate to say the hard things to both sides, even in a room full of police officers. He said that we have to be willing to hear the pain from members of black lives matter. But he also said that the police are doing their jobs and deserve to be safe and respected.
Obama’s push for unity was evident in not only the words he chose, but in having former President Bush speak first. Bush gave a great speech in which he too talked about unity, saying, “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples and judge ourselves by our best intentions.” The two presidents were obviously trying valiantly to demonstrate unity in rebuke to Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric and impact.
This coming together in the face of tragedy, this hard look and willingness to see the room for growth on both sides, is evidence of a leader who walks the talk of a Christian (or any moral leadership, insert any religion or humanism or atheism – point is same).
The Republicans who responded to Obama’s speech with vitriol today are sad people. They only heard that they need to listen to black lives matter and they ignored the parts they agree with. They tried to ruin a memorial service and opportunity for unity with their hate. They see race and can’t help but rage at the idea that they might have some personal growth to do.
But they are just trolls at this point. The nation is being led by a man who will not accept that we can’t keep looking forward and being better. President Obama gave a speech with a bit of gospel, a bit of Lincoln and a bit of Bobby Kennedy.
We are a lucky nation, we must take to heart the words of our President, and be willing to search our own hearts and minds for hidden biases on all sides.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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