Tucson shooting reveals America's polarity
The tragedy in Arizona when Jared Laughner gunned down multiple people, including the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, left more than just blood stains in the parking lot of a grocery store.
He left not just physical scars, but also emotional and psychological ones too. He also opened old wounds in the American political spectrum.
Not even a day went by with people attempted to politicize the event. Many blamed former Alaska governor and Tea Party star Sarah Palin for her map using alleged crosshairs over Congressional districts.
Others blamed the books Laughner read, or the powerful, violent political rhetoric our politicians have been using lately.
I'm no Palin defender, but even I'll come to her defense saying I don't think she would want someone to shoot and kill someone. The map at the time was a powerful message at the time, but in hindsight, it was probably in poor taste to be targets on districts.
Others wanted to blame the Tea Party, the "liberal media," etc, etc, etc.
What Laughner was able to do was simple: He was able to show that we are so polarized in this country that it is nearly impossible for us to even grieve together without political ideology getting in the way.
Even the memorial service was politicized because some thought the crowd was to jovial, even when the news of Mrs. Giffords steady improvement was announced by Pres. Obama.
There comes a time when politics need to be put aside, and this is that time. Sometimes you have to say an event has no rhyme, reason or political motive.
This tragedy was not the fault of Palin, the Tea Party, politics or some book that was misinterpreted. The only person to blame her is Laughner.
Laughner was not a political idealist: He was a deeply disturbed individual who needed help, but sadly didn't get it, or he refused the help he might have received.
The only debate this tragedy should've raised was how do we make sure this never happens again: Do we now toughen gun laws? Do we examine the state of mental healthcare in this country? Do we rethink our political rhetoric?
It doesn't matter if you are liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. We are human beings first, and Americans second. We should at least be able to grieve and see that something needs to be done to make sure nothing of this magnitude happens again.
He left not just physical scars, but also emotional and psychological ones too. He also opened old wounds in the American political spectrum.
Not even a day went by with people attempted to politicize the event. Many blamed former Alaska governor and Tea Party star Sarah Palin for her map using alleged crosshairs over Congressional districts.
Others blamed the books Laughner read, or the powerful, violent political rhetoric our politicians have been using lately.
I'm no Palin defender, but even I'll come to her defense saying I don't think she would want someone to shoot and kill someone. The map at the time was a powerful message at the time, but in hindsight, it was probably in poor taste to be targets on districts.
Others wanted to blame the Tea Party, the "liberal media," etc, etc, etc.
What Laughner was able to do was simple: He was able to show that we are so polarized in this country that it is nearly impossible for us to even grieve together without political ideology getting in the way.
Even the memorial service was politicized because some thought the crowd was to jovial, even when the news of Mrs. Giffords steady improvement was announced by Pres. Obama.
There comes a time when politics need to be put aside, and this is that time. Sometimes you have to say an event has no rhyme, reason or political motive.
This tragedy was not the fault of Palin, the Tea Party, politics or some book that was misinterpreted. The only person to blame her is Laughner.
Laughner was not a political idealist: He was a deeply disturbed individual who needed help, but sadly didn't get it, or he refused the help he might have received.
The only debate this tragedy should've raised was how do we make sure this never happens again: Do we now toughen gun laws? Do we examine the state of mental healthcare in this country? Do we rethink our political rhetoric?
It doesn't matter if you are liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. We are human beings first, and Americans second. We should at least be able to grieve and see that something needs to be done to make sure nothing of this magnitude happens again.
What's sad is that Barack Obama was elected on the promise of unifying a country that the media had torn apart using the left's ultra-hated of George W. Bush. But Obama has proven to be the Most-Polarizing figure in America. And he is doing a horrible job as president.
ReplyDeleteWe are in sad shape. People are suffering w/ no relief in sight. And this shooting is but a reminder. We really need leadership, yet we have made a terrible mistake, and we have to wait until Nov. 2012 to correct it. Hopefully we can bide our time until America can install a real leader in Washington. And then maybe we can begin to heal and recover from this Nightmare, and restore our beautiful country.