Ben Johnson, FloydReports.com

This may not be my most popular column, and if that is the case, I can live with it.

I never thought I’d get to write these words, so I had to take the opportunity while I could still do so: Barack Obama Did Something Right. This “Man Bites Dog” phrase refers to the fact that the president took exactly the right tone in his speech addressing the Tuscon shootings last night. Unlike rabid left-wingers who have tried to pin blame on his political opponents, Obama gave an apolitical speech that quoted Scripture, memorialized the dead, comforted the grieving, and called on the nation to celebrate the best aspects of America. He was right to keep the tone and the content within appropriate boundaries. When someone does something right, I believe in acknowledging it, and he did something right.

As usual, it was purely rhetorical. We can count on seeing the same Chicagoland culture and tactics in the White House for as long as he is president. But his speech deserves careful reading.

Of course, he set a low bar by his past performance. At least he did not begin by giving a “shout out” to anyone.

How then should Christians react to the tragedy and Obama’s speech?

The most striking part of the speech recounted the lives of those lost. Among them were three people over the age of 70.

Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard spent their retirement visiting family and donating their time to the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. Their pursuits are the two most important in our lives: God and family. Too often we do not realize this until we are retired, but they alone make every age of life worth living, infusing purpose and fulfillment into our every action and rescuing us from the loneliness of self-seeking.

Dorwan covered his wife’s body, trading his life for hers.

George and Dorothy Morris were also parted by Jared Lee Loughner’s bullets. Obama noted, “When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.” George embodied the spirit of martyrdom, of laying down one’s life for others. His example should remind us of the spirit of service to our fellow man. It should be an exhortation to fulfill the eternal devotion of a husband for a wife, to “love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). George’s example should remind us of those who serve in the armed forces, who are prepared to lay down their lives everyday to protect us, encouraging our thanks and forcing us to make sure those who serve never lack for physical needs or health care (physical or otherwise).

Gabe Zimmerman, an aide to Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, devoted himself to work in the government. Government, too, can be a means of service, if it is limited to its proper function, scope, and role. Government keeps foreign enemies from invading and prosecutes grave breaches of our liberties such as this shooting.

Judge John Roll, Obama said, “embodied America’s fidelity to the law.” We must abide by this commitment, remembering we are a nation of laws, not of men. Selective enforcement of the law is unacceptable. The supreme law of the land is the U.S. Constitution. Those laws which violate its terms must be struck down, and those who refuse to abide by its terms while in office should be defeated, recalled from office, or impeached. And those responsible for enforcing our laws, like Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, must….

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