An extraordinary event took place Thursday night in Tucson. There was a concert organized primarily by Jackson Brown and Alice Cooper to benefit the "Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding". The dozen or so artists performed without compensation, and most of the services to put on the concert were donated. This Fund was the brainchild of one of the victims of the January 8 shooting here in Tucson. While this may be a distant memory to many, it is still very much on the minds of those of us here. As you may recall, the shooting took place at an event run by our Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded with a bullet through her head. She is gradually recovering, and we all hope and pray that she will be back with us before too long. There were six people killed and 12 others injured. The Fund is the brain-child of one of the injured. While he was still in the ICU being treated for his wounds, he began to think how he could find a silver lining in the horrific events that had just occurred. This in itself is extraordinary. He is a member of Congresswoman Giffords' staff, and at that point probably did not know whether she was dead or alive.
While our country and state are both locked in unprecedented partisan bickering, the City of Tucson is determined to set a more positive tone. While there is no evidence that the vicious name-calling over the past couple of years had anything to do with the shooting on January 8, the shooter has serious mental problems and it certainly could have been a factor. And many of us agree that it has set a tone in this country which could lead to serious unintended consequences.
The event was inspiring and says a lot about the people of Tucson. I am glad that I could be a part of it.
Comments(0)