Today, a funeral was held for Christina Taylor Green. She was only nine years old when died in the Tucson shooting. I never met her, but the fact she seemed so smart and driven bothers me to no end. President Obama said something truly inspiring about her in his speech:
Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
I don't know what to say. I don't have President Obama's gift with words. She wanted to be a baseball player and loved politics. I love sports and politics since I was young so I guess I see myself in her. Though she would have been and was a far better person than I could ever be.
