Obama’s speech in Newtown, Connecticut, following the mass murder at an elementary school there was simultaneously a remembrance, a philosophical examination of how human beings handle tragedy, and a call to action to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. Obama chose his words carefully to inspire listeners without tainting the memory of the victims. It is a call for political action without being explicitly partisan. He tried to comfort the people in the audience who lost loved ones by creating an environment of national unity at a time of tragedy while simultaneously shaming the forces that prevented gun-reform legislation from passing despite a long line of school shootings.