Gaby's Fight and "Christians"
Contributor
Written by
Kathy Brunner
January 2011
Contributor
Written by
Kathy Brunner
January 2011

 

Mid morning on January 8, congresswoman, Gabriella Giffords was shot in the head outside of  a local Supermarket where she arrived to hold a political event. Six individuals including a 6 year old girl and a federal judge were killed and Jared Lee Loughner, 22 is being held as a suspect in the shootings.

Congresswoman Giffords is a Democrat who supported healthcare reform and reinstating federal funding for poor individuals who required transplants but she also supported stronger border control especially after a constituent was killed in April on his ranch near the Mexican border. Giffords seemed to demonstrate centrist behavior in regards to what needed to be done in the government but taking her mission to her constituents and others interested in her view became her undoing on Saturday morning.

What does all this have to do with Christianity? Well, Arizona, once the western mecca for retirees has since become a state ravaged by the effects illegal immigration and bigoted viewpoints. It seems while no citizen in Arizona is safe from the pros and cons of how the influx of people entering our country illegally have affected the health of the state, many of those even with diverse viewpoints came together to hold vigils in congresswoman Gifford’s honor. News stations and internet carried photos of groups in synagogues an churches coming together to pray for the congresswoman’s recovery.

Ms. Giffords supports abortion rights and carries a gun, wanted widespread immigration reform but supported strong police border presence. And those who came to place a token on a makeshift memorial site were white, black, Latino, Indian and American and most of all, people who realize the dignity of human life.  Maybe they were not all professed Christians but they all realized that this is not about Democrats or Republicans, illegals or citizens, Jewish or Catholic, wealthy or poor…this is about realizing that an act of violence like this is abhorred by anyone who respects the dignity of life and the right to personal opinion and that regardless of what she supported, Giffords deserved better than where she ended up.

Those that pray for her also know they deserve better than where we are now and that we will be rewarded or punished for the deeds we commit when asked to give an account of our lives. It is not up to Christians to judge the suspect, the motive, the state of Arizona or the country. Those who came together to pray and ask God for His blessing on Gabrielle Giffords know one thing; often in tragedy our best side of “Christian” shows up even if we do not all call ourselves that. In tragedy we are not Jewish, Mid eastern, Mexican or American. Just as in 911, in tragedy we are a country that should be demonstrating that we do trust in God and that we do respect human life.

Gaby has a long fight. Those who met and continue to rally for her recovery are helping her fight by demonstrating a sound principle…You need not be a Christian to do the right thing.

Everyone should want congresswoman Giffords to recover fully. Everyone that is who realizes that our country can only survive when respect for one another and dignity of life supersedes any personal motive in any arena for any reason.

This Little Christian

 

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Comments
  • Jane Brewster

    Well put, Kathy. Today is the anniversary of that terrible shooting, and Gabby will be out there at a ceremony for those who were lost. Nice to see you again, btw  --- take care.