I agree with you, Dee. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with all of us. Here's to civility!

To Christina Green:
Sleep newest Angel of heaven. Rest in the arms of Jesus. Our loss is heaven's gain but you did not depart without leaving your footprints on our heart. We now know of the dreams for the life you will never have and your child-like optimism for a better democracy shame those of us who needed a lesson in civility. I keep thinking of Isiah 11:6....'and a little child shall lead them.' You have touched this country's conscience with your hope for a better world in which to live, in a country that has become far too angry with itself. We have stopped listening. We have stopped being considerate. We think only of ourselves. Your silenced voice has been heard throughout the world and this nation. Let us speak gently to one another the way you would want us to, while mending the wounds we have created with words of criticism, hatred and ignorance. God bless you, dearest Christina...and all those who joined you and may you continue to touch our hearts and be a reminder that with every life there is hope and with every death there is direction. Sleep well littlest Angel.

Oh Dee, you expressed this beautifully.
Hopefully this horrific shooting will finally change the gun laws forever.

This from the editorial page in today's Arizona Daily Star:

Be still. Be still and be thankful for what you have.

And when you hear yourself saying "Yes, but . . . " - be still.

Be still and be thankful for what we have.

Instead of looking for what's missing, or finding the shortcomings in another person's actions or words, think of the good.

So when the caller rings up, as one did Thursday morning, and demands to know why President Obama did not identify by name the two men who tackled the gunman on Saturday, and how could he not do that and why did one person get to sit in the front row at the memorial service but others were several rows back, and he should have said this or that - we have but a request:

Be still. Be thankful for what you have.

Give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Everyone in Tucson, and those around the country and the world, has been touched by the horrific shootings in some way. We are all, each of us, hurting.

The urge to criticize, to find fault and concentrate on what one thinks is missing might be a natural human response. But we should stop ourselves. It only adds to the angst and the sorrow that people feel. It drags us down when we need to be supporting one another.

There is no need to argue over who acted with greater heroism: the two men - identified as Roger Salzgeber and Bill D. Badger - who wrestled the gunman to the ground; or the woman, Patricia Maisch, who got the ammunition magazine away from the shooter; or the intern, Daniel Hernandez Jr., who put pressure on Rep. Gabby Giffords' head wound and held her up so she wouldn't suffocate on her own blood.

Each one is a hero. Recognizing one does not diminish the others. It is futile to argue, as some people have started to do, that one is more important than another.

Instead of concentrating on how we think someone should have been honored or how someone else should have acted, please extend empathy. Maybe there is a reason we don't know. Coming back to "yes, but . . . " does not change what has happened, and it does not add to the healing that must begin.

Instead of criticizing, find something good to say. Instead of diminishing the heroism of one, celebrate the bravery of all. Instead of finding fault, find the positive.

Find the way ahead.

Be still. And be thankful for what you have.

Yonuh...extremely wise words.

I wonder if this is not an issue relating to the state of our mental health services and our understanding of severe mental illness rather than something to be put in the political arena?

Thanks for sharing the editorial from the Tucson paper, Yonuh. Very thought-provoking - and so true. As a country we need to try to end our polarization. And just doing this -- ceasing with the "yes buts..." and instead finding something good to say -- IF we could all start to do it, would go a long way toward ending the great divide we're experiencing in this country.

I just heard Diane Sawyer say, "Gabby opened her eyes...now let's open ours." Just wanted to share that.
Anne. I love what you said...let's hope.