U.S. Leadership at a Time of Crisis

The tragedy of the shooting that killed six people and injured 18 others, including a politician, truly shocked the United States.

Although this shock was not as dreadful as compared to the shock over the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986 or the spectacular terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that bloody event on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, stunned the U.S.

The concern with which U.S. leaders have reacted and taken steps to face that crisis is no less interesting. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama immediately expressed deep condolences toward the victims and the families that were left behind.

President Obama and the first lady also flew to Arizona to lead the national mourning during last Wednesday’s funeral ceremony at the University of Arizona campus. Moreover, President Obama also invited the entire U.S. to unite and to continue to look ahead to the future, in spite of the ordeal.

Obama’s leadership style in facing that crisis contributed to strengthening and lengthening the history notes about the mythology of America’s leadership in facing difficulties. Obama’s actions reminded people of the reaction of President Ronald Reagan, who gave a speech when Challenger exploded in 1986. Reagan’s speech gave optimism to the U.S. people, especially to the schoolchildren who were shocked because one of the victims in that explosion was a teacher who became an astronaut.

No less impressive was President George W. Bush’s speech after the spectacular terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that pushed the U.S. to unite in facing that difficulty and to keep viewing the future with optimism. That too was the message that was displayed by Obama in facing the tragedy in Tucson.

Obama urged the U.S. to unite [and] not be divided by the controversy about the possibility that the weekend’s tragedy was a political assassination attempt. Speculation about a political assassination attempt emerged because a shot, among others, was directed at a member of Congress from the Democratic Party, Gabrielle Giffords, who is now in critical condition in the hospital.

Up until now the motive of the bloody attack by that youth, Jared Loughner, 22, has not yet been explained. His family has already asked for forgiveness. Loughner is charged with murder and attempted murder. From last weekend’s shooting incident, an anxiety about safety has emerged among the population.

Nonetheless, that worry is considered excessive, because even with how heavy the threat of crime is, the U.S. continues to show its supremacy in the effort to enforce the law and to guarantee a feeling of safety among its people.