On Twitter Politico quotes from a statement issued by President Obama in response to a shooting at a public event held by Representative Giffords, which has claimed many casualties including the Congresswoman (her prognosis is reported to be surprisingly positive, having suffered a gunshot to her head) and at least a few fatalities among them as I draft this.
@politico: #Obama:
Such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free societyhttp://politi.co/fQmggR
What does that mean? Assuming even the best of intentions, does that sentiment mean much in the context of remarks from a contemporary President of the United States?
In trying to give those words meaning, these questions come to mind:
What does that imply about society? I don’t take it for granted that we live in a free one, if that was an implied premise.
Do I even agree with the statement? What does a free society need to endure, lest it stop being free?
I think we must consider the idea that a free society is going to have to accept some level of tragedy. We also need to consider how much tragedy is a function of an unfree society. I’m not sure the most vocal people who seize podiums and microphones want a free society or even understand what they want.
