Making sense out of senseless acts

A grandmother. A husband. A wife. A judge. A fiance. A 9-year-old girl.

Those who lost their lives on Saturday in the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Read about them here.

On Wednesday, President Obama gave an address at a memorial honoring the victims at the University of Arizona.

"But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other. That we cannot do. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.

After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose someone in our family -– especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken out of our routines, forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward – but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness, generosity, compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we may question whether we are doing right by our children, our community, whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality; we are reminded that in our fleeting time on 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."

Words that people everywhere needed to hear, I think. Read the full speech here.

On Facebook, Sarah posted Jon Stewart's response on The Daily Show to the tragedy. It's as remarkable and noteworthy as what President Obama said. Watch it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Arizona Shootings Reactionwww.thedailyshow.com

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"I urge everyone, read up about those who were hurt and/or killed in this shooting. You will be comforted by just how much anonymous goodness there really is in the world. You read about these people and you realize that people you don't even know, that you have never met are leading lives of real dignity and goodness and you hear about crazy, but it's rarer than you think."