Giffords Urges Graduates at Bard to ‘Be Courageous’
Source: New York Times
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. Speaking uncertainly but smiling broadly, Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who became a public face of the gun control movement after she was shot in 2011, delivered a kind of blessing in her commencement address to Bard College graduates here on Saturday afternoon, urging them to be bold, be courageous, be your best.
Ms. Giffords spoke for no more than two minutes at the commencement ceremony, where she also received an honorary degree, but earned several standing ovations.
She did not address her gun control advocacy, which encountered a setback last month when the Senate blocked background check legislation. Instead, she left it to her husband, the astronaut Mark E. Kelly, to describe their joint efforts to curb gun violence and the shooting in which six people were killed and 13 others were wounded, including Ms. Giffords, by a gunman in Tucson.
Mr. Kelly, who has emerged as an ardent spokesman for his wife, told the audience of Ms. Giffordss continuing recovery from a head wound, which left her struggling to perform basic tasks, including speaking. He said the gun control issue had moved her to re-enter public life despite her physical limitations.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/us/politics/giffords-urges-bard-graduates-to-be-courageous.html
I know it's still so hard for her to speak given her injuries. Getting up there and speaking for 2 minutes must have been difficult. She is a courageous woman.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)She's looking at the big picture and not what some might call her shortcomings in speaking. She is a good leader, too bad Arizona lost her guidance.
longship
(40,416 posts)R&K
jonthebru
(1,034 posts)We did not get better firearm control because people were not courageous enough. She is correct is asking us to be courageous.
I haven't graduated from anywhere for a very, very long time but I really do enjoy graduation speeches.
SleeplessinSoCal
(8,998 posts)DFW
(54,057 posts)If you knew what she was like before, you can better understand her determination. To even get elected as a Democrat in her district was a feat to begin with. The Republicans threw everything at her they had to defeat her and take back the seat. They didn't know who they were messing with. She is bright, charming ("I don't do handshakes. I do hugs" , and focused. Just because she can no longer articulate everything like she used to, that doesn't mean she has lost the inner core of who she is.
When I last saw her a few months ago, she tired easily and had great difficulty speaking, but she was strong in spirit, and content to let Mark speak for her. That was the funny part, as he was content to play the strong silent husband before the shooting. But they were always on the same wavelength, which makes them such an effective couple.