What A Courageous President Might Have Said
A statement from the president we can only hope to have one day
Too many times, we have woken up to a nation that looks nothing like the America we know and love — where evil seems to overshadow the hope of freedom and the promise of prosperity that defines our culture and country. On those days, we look to our leaders to set the path forward and remind us of the light ahead. Donald J. Trump is not equipped to do this for us on the best of days, and especially not on our darkest of days.
This was made abundantly clear when he addressed the nation following Sunday night’s shooting in Las Vegas, NV. Our president sent out a tweet with an ill-placed exclamation point and delivered an address that asked for prayers instead of action. Today, he’s in Las Vegas and avoiding the issue of gun violence altogether. It’s been said that the language in his initial speech was fine, but why would we ever settle for “fine” in the face of a growing death toll and hundreds injured in hospitals? When are we going to start demanding our leaders have courage in the face of tragedy and start protecting American lives from massacre?
If I could, I would like to submit a statement in lieu of what Mr. Trump delivered yesterday — something I would have written for a shrewder, more courageous leader interested in ending this senseless merry-go-round of mass murder that we tolerate under the cynical and false guise of having no other options if we are to be true to our Constitution.
Here goes…
“My fellow Americans. There is no greater tragedy than the loss of life at the hands of evil. What happened last night can only be described as an act of terrorism, intended to darken our hearts and betray the compassion and love that binds us together as Americans. We will not succumb.
This morning, families are left to grapple with the loss of loved ones, and the worry of injured kin. To the families, the parents, the children, the friends who lost loved ones last night, my heart is with you. And to the people still battling to stay alive, and stay strong, the hearts of every American is with you. We will not leave you behind, we will not forget the suffering you are facing. We are with you.
To the first responders, law enforcement officers, doctors and medical workers and the ordinary Americans who put their brethren on their backs to take them to safety: you are American heroes. You raced to the scene and put yourselves in harm’s way to save lives, comfort those in need, and do what needed to be done. We are forever grateful to you.
Nothing I say today can repair the damage that was done last night in Las Vegas. And nothing that was said about Orlando, Newtown, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Aurora, or too many other American cities forever marked by the stain of wanton gun violence, will ever correct the terror that has been inflicted upon innocent Americans. But there is a way forward. There is a way to find comfort in each other, heal together and prevent any more massacres from taking place in our backyards.
It is no mystery: gun violence in America can and must be reduced. Mass shootings do not have to happen with such regularity and with this level of carnage. That is the truth. And I would not be doing my job if I did not pledge to you today to fight for common sense legislation aimed at addressing and ending these atrocities. No more Americans should have to die at the hands of an armed mad man. No more Americans should live in fear of what right now is inevitable.
This does not have to be our existence. This does not have to be our reality anymore. We know how to fix this, and I commit to doing everything in my power to bring change. That is my duty as your president, that is the duty of your representatives in the House, your senators, your governors, and your state legislators.
People will say it’s too soon to talk about solutions for how we can prevent the next act of domestic terrorism. They’ll say that I’m politicizing a tragedy. I say, it isn’t too soon—because in reality, we are too late. We are taking action too late to protect our fellow Americans from senseless violence. This conversation can wait no longer.
If I never have to give one of these speeches again I would consider my time on the job well spent. The heart of America breaks every time one of its leaders has to apologize for inaction, for refusing to do what is right to stop gun violence and save the lives of the people I am meant to serve. I will lead us out of this darkness and take us forward to better days.
Have courage today. Hug your loved ones, pray for the people of Las Vegas, and pray for the hundreds of thousands of Americans whose lives have already been forever changed by gun violence. And rest assured that when courage doesn’t come easy, that I will carry its burden for you. Because America can and will learn from this. Together, we will rise, we will overcome, and we will leave behind a nation stronger and safer than the one we inherited.”
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Mackenzie Long is an Account Executive at RALLY, a communications firm that works to influence the way people think about and respond to political and social issues.
