U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
In my position at the Baker Institute, I have had the pleasure of meeting many national and international dignitaries over the years; Gabrielle Giffords is the only one who knows me by my first name. I met her six years ago when she was a state senator from Arizona. She had called the previous week to ask if I could give her a tour of the Baker Institute and give her some information on our space policy program on her next trip to Houston. She arrived on the scheduled day and I gave her a tour of the institute, introducing her to our senior fellow in space policy, George Abbey, the former director of the Johnson Space Center. I had suffered a stroke about nine months before, and she could not have been more kind or encouraging about my fight to recover. At lunch, she told us that she was dating an astronaut and wondered if Mr. Abbey knew Mark Kelly. Of course he knew Mark very well; he had chosen him and his twin brother as astronauts. I was very impressed with Gabby’s intelligence, curiosity and compassion. I was not surprised the next year when she called to tell me that she had decided to run for the U.S. Congress and even less surprised that she won, even though she was a female Democrat in a Republican district. You cannot find a more genuine, caring person in our government than Gabrielle Giffords.
Some say the shooting in Tucson on Saturday was unrelated to the political climate in our country. I disagree, and believe that as a people and as a nation, we should have evolved beyond this by now. The poisonous rhetoric between our political parties must stop. People knew this was bound to happen and that nothing would change until it did. Let’s not lose this opportunity to grow beyond the hate and contempt we feel for people with different views. The war of ideas should be fought rationally with words and ballots — not with guns or violence. Our government is not a monarchy; we have a duly elected president and Congress. We have a Constitution to guide us. The Revolutionary War is over and we won. The Civil War is over and the United States won. There is no reason to doubt either party’s patriotism. But there is reason to doubt the patriotism of people who would secede from the union or encourage or insinuate violence to enforce their will upon others. We are better than this and our energy should go toward forming a more perfect union and not toward demonizing those who disagree on how we should do that. Here is a novel concept: Let’s vote and let the majority rule while protecting the minority’s rights.
After our first meeting, Gabrielle wrote to thank me for the tour and lunch and told me that as impressed as she was with the Baker Institute, the thing that impressed her most was my story and my determination to recover from the stroke. Our hearts and prayers are with her and her family as she fights for her life in an Arizona hospital. With God’s grace, one day I hope to repay the encouragement she gave to me and to let her know that with time, hard work and true grit she will be able to recover and reclaim her life. Gabrielle represents the highest ideals of America and we cannot allow anyone, foreign or domestic, to steal those ideals away from us.
Jason Lyons, a Rice University alumnus, has worked at the Baker Institute for more than a decade and is currently its logistics manager.
George Abbey, Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy, adds his thoughts on Gabrielle Giffords:
I can only echo what Jason has written about Gabrielle. Gabrielle and I have become good friends since I first met her on her visit to the Baker Institute. She subsequently joined me in participating in an educational program in Scotland focused on interesting young students in science and engineering. She hoped to institute a similar program in Arizona for young high school students. We have maintained our friendship as she moved on to Washington to serve in Congress. Gabrielle has made many friends in Houston and she made a number of friends in Scotland during her brief visit there. They have all expressed their great concern for Gabrielle, and their hearts and prayers are with her and her family.
The Baker Institute joins them all in extending its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all who were murdered during Saturday’s attack in Tucson. We all hope for a full and speedy recovery for Gabrielle and those injured in that senseless act. Gabrielle is a dedicated public servant who works tirelessly on behalf of her district and the nation. Her selfless devotion to her constituents and their concerns is what led her and her staff into harm’s way last weekend.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Gabrielle and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, the other members of her family, and all those impacted by this terrible tragedy.