# Obama's Speech to the Memorial Service **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 17, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252 "2012-12-17T01:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/1 "2012-12-17T01:52:00Z")
I must congratulate his speech writer. He called for more gun control on every level without asking for any gun control. He’s absolutely going in the wrong direction, but wasn’t that a great tap dance? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/2 "2012-12-17T01:54:43Z")
Another lost opportunity. What a damn shame. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/3 "2012-12-17T01:57:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Another lost opportunity. What a damn shame. I thought he was going to take it…he came close about 6 times, but didn’t.. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/4 "2012-12-17T02:08:13Z")
I thought he nailed it. He didn’t go far enough to illicit the knee-jerk pro-gun response that would come undoubtedly if he’d explicitly called for a change in gun laws, but he planted a seed (also with a mention of mental illness, IMO the 2 big political issues that should be addressed). It’s a tough line to walk. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/5 "2012-12-17T02:18:02Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Another lost opportunity. What a damn shame. I’m as tired as many of the “don’t politicize the tragedy” thing (if not now, when?), but a memorial service really isn’t the place for a sweeping policy statement. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/6 "2012-12-17T02:34:23Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I must congratulate his speech writer. He called for more gun control on every level without asking for any gun control. He’s absolutely going in the wrong direction, but wasn’t that a great tap dance? Several reporters/anchors claim he wrote it himself. It certainly sounded to me like his own words. A great speech. I was rather surprised he “went there,” but I’m glad he did. Who gives a crap about “politicizing” when there are lives to be saved. It’s linked to the words of comfort, and the wonderful talks preceding by people of many faiths, by the desire among loved ones that at least something positive can come from this. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/7 "2012-12-17T06:44:57Z")
It was one of the President’s best speeches IMO and very moving even if I disagree with some of the implications. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/8 "2012-12-17T07:12:23Z")
I was shocked by his referenced Jesus Christ explicitly. In any circumstances, this would be insensitive, but how much does it take to know that this town has a significant Jewish population. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/9 "2012-12-17T08:00:04Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I was shocked by his referenced Jesus Christ explicitly. In any circumstances, this would be insensitive, but how much does it take to know that this town has a significant Jewish population. I’m assuming this is sarcasm? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/10 "2012-12-17T08:28:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I was shocked by his referenced Jesus Christ explicitly. In any circumstances, this would be insensitive, but how much does it take to know that this town has a significant Jewish population. Not sure if that’s a woosh or not, but I don’t think its insensitive to mention ones own faith in what’s essentially a memorial service, even if that faith isn’t shared by the people being memorialised. Obviously you don’t want to cross the line into evangelizing, but that wasn’t the case here. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/11 "2012-12-17T11:59:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Obviously you don’t want to cross the line into evangelizing, but that wasn’t the case here. I certainly found it preachy. I asked my husband a couple of times whether it was the president or a pastor up there on the stage. I get that it’s a memorial service. But I was ready for a “let us pray” to come out at any moment. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/12 "2012-12-17T13:56:00Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > I thought he nailed it. He didn’t go far enough to illicit the knee-jerk pro-gun response that would come undoubtedly if he’d explicitly called for a change in gun laws Thank God! I was afraid for a moment that gun nutters would start panicking about Obama taking away their guns. Then you’d see ammo prices shoot through the roof! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/13 "2012-12-17T14:31:44Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Not sure if that’s a woosh or not, but I don’t think its insensitive to mention ones own faith in what’s essentially a memorial service, even if that faith isn’t shared by the people being memorialised. Obviously you don’t want to cross the line into evangelizing, but that wasn’t the case here. It crossed the line of Ceremonial Deism. Now, there isn’t a law against it, but I would expect the president to keep his personal faith out of this very public event. If I’m Jewish (or not Christian), and all of the sudden I hear: "“Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them – for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison. God has called them all home." as an obvious reference to my child, I would be taken aback. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/14 "2012-12-17T14:58:33Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Thank God! I was afraid for a moment that gun nutters would start panicking about Obama taking away their guns. Then you’d see ammo prices shoot through the roof! My feeling is still that with a Republican house and the NRA nothing significant will come of this, but I’m almost curious enough to drive by my local gun store to see if there’s a line stretching outside the door. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/15 "2012-12-17T15:11:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I would be taken aback. … and you would be overreacting. Do you really think any of these grieving parents heard the President say that and immediately thought “hey, wait a minute … that’s church talk! Separation of church and state!”? I seriously doubt it. And I seriously doubt you would either if your child had just been gunned down at school. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/16 "2012-12-17T15:17:53Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > … and you would be overreacting. Do you really think any of these grieving parents heard the President say that and immediately thought “hey, wait a minute … that’s church talk! Separation of church and state!”? No, I don’t think anyone thought that. But it would have jarred me out of the moment to hear the president project his personal, Christian faith on my dead non-Christian child and me. This is a memorial service, and in this country, that means religion is going to be invoked. But it’s not hard to keep it generic, by using terms like “Our Creator” or even “God”. This isn’t about Obama and his religion, it’s about the people grieving, some of whom are not Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/17 "2012-12-17T15:20:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > No, I don’t think anyone thought that. But it would have jarred me out of the moment to hear the president project his personal, Christian faith on my dead non-Christian child and me. > > This is a memorial service, and in this country, that means religion is going to be invoked. But it’s not hard to keep it generic, by using terms like “Our Creator” or even “God”. This isn’t about Obama and his religion, it’s about the people grieving, some of whom are not Christian. A person says something nice about your child in attempt to provide some small bit of comfort in an incredibly trying time. Your reaction: Can I have it said to me in my specific flavor of comfort please? Come on? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/18 "2012-12-17T15:24:41Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > My feeling is still that with a Republican house and the NRA nothing significant will come of this, but I’m almost curious enough to drive by my local gun store to see if there’s a line stretching outside the door. According to my gun nutter friend who was himself going to get a bunch of guns before “Obama takes them away”, yes, yes there were around here. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/19 "2012-12-17T15:24:57Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I must congratulate his speech writer. He called for more gun control on every level without asking for any gun control. He’s absolutely going in the wrong direction, but wasn’t that a great tap dance? Actually, all of the significant policy responses that have been proposed involve constraints on freedom, from fewer rights of the mentally ill to infringement on First Amendment rights. Conservatives seem to be fine with actual humans shooting AR-15s so long as no one does so in a video game. And liberals vice versa. (Painting with a broad brush, obviously.) You see the speech as a call for gun control because of your political beliefs, not the content. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252/20 "2012-12-17T15:26:20Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > A person says something nice about your child in attempt to provide some small bit of comfort in an incredibly trying time. > > Your reaction: Can I have it said to me in my specific flavor of comfort please? That’s not what I said. > [@](#): > > Come on? Really? It has the possibility of adding insult to injury-- it would be an emotional response, not an analytical one. So yes, really. How hard is it to keep things generic? Not very. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-speech-to-the-memorial-service/644252.md?page=2)