Michelle Obama has a message for America’s parents in the wake of Saturday’s Tucson shooting rampage: Teach your children about tolerance.
In an open letter the White House released Thursday, the First Lady wrote, “We can teach them the value of tolerance – the practice of assuming the best, rather than the worst, about those around us.”
The First Lady also wrote about the death of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, a little girl who was shot in the chest during Saturday’s “Congress on Your Corner” event.
“[Christina Green] was at that store that day because she was passionate about serving others,” the First Lady wrote. “She had just been elected to her school’s student council, and she wanted to meet her Congresswoman and learn more about politics and public life.”
In addition to expressing the heartbreak she and President Barack Obama experienced when they heard about the shooting rampage, Michelle Obama added that parents should pay respect to “the men and women who serve our country.”
“We can also teach our children about the tremendous sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country and by their families,” the First Lady wrote. “We can explain to them that although we might not always agree with those who represent us, anyone who enters public life does so because they love their country and want to serve it.”