We will wait, along with all of you, to learn more about what compelled the young man responsible for these crimes to act in such a hugely destructive way. But this we know for sure: the culture that he lived and breathed each day -- Arizona's culture; America's culture -- was one that devalued the worth of immigrants, questioned the rights of women, people of color and LGBTQ individuals to live their freest, fullest lives, and put political figures within cross-hairs for elimination. Under those circumstances, it is only a miracle that we don't see actions like his each and every day.
What we all must learn from this sorrowful chain of events is that words -- in that simple old adage -- do indeed matter. They create the world that all of us live in and respond to, sometimes in ways that bring out the best in human nature, and sometimes in ways that bring out the very worst. If we hope to have fewer such days that reduce us to shock over the latter, we must work to build a world where violent rhetoric -- on the political stage, against women, immigrants or any other -- is no longer tacitly accepted as clever verbal volleying. We must once and for all reject the politics of violence, rhetorical and otherwise, because lives, we understand ever more profoundly today, are quite literally at stake.
For those who made the utmost sacrifice in that parking lot, and those still struggling to survive, we -- and our political leaders -- should be able to give at least that much.
I am so glad that you commented on the terrible rhetoric that corrupts our airwaves daily. People simply do not realize how their poisonous words can affect not just everyday people but individuals who are dancing at the edge of sanity every day, getting ready to step off the cliff toward violent psychosis at any time. The words of too many of our so-called "clever" political pundits, and you know who they are, can be the push that sends a mentally unstable person over the edge. Yes, the probability is small since few mentally disturbed people take such actions. Why, however, sow seeds of hate and division like this ad infinitum?
ReplyDeleteIt is a sad commentary that instead of recognizing this, these political commentators of negativity and division spend so much of their time trying to justify their distribution of mental poison in the name of free speech. In actually, too many of them are more motivated by ratings and royalties than they are concerned about the plight of ALL Americans. At least that is what their ongoing irresponsibility seems to suggest. Sadly, we sit around and let their commentary set the standard for who we are as a people. It's a poor standard!
I agree that we can expect to see more carnage of this kind in the future. It is too bad, but if we could express a little more love and understanding toward each other, people like Jared Lee Loughtin would not become the powder keg that destroyed the lives of so many people recently. When are we going to wake up and stop letting these commentators walk all over us with hatefulness and divisiveness? We have to do better than this!
Dr. James P. Griffin, Jr.; Atlanta, GA