A reader writes:
What I found to be the most brilliant part of Obama's speech was when he spoke of how we all react when a member of our own family dies unexpectedly and we start to question ourselves and our behavior before the person died, asking for example whether we were kind enough to that person or showed sufficient love. I think it was his way of saying that those of us who have been asking the same questions but about our society are doing something entirely appropriate and having nothing to be ashamed of.
It was almost like what great creative artists often do in repressive regimes, which is to convey their ideas through allegory so that they cannot be accused of addressing a prohibited political topic or making a prohibited political point. Obama used our reflexive self-questioning in the face of personal family tragedy to bless our doing the same in the face of a social tragedy.
Civil and honest. The lies must end along with the demonization.