On Saturday, January 8th, 2010, like many other Americans I was shocked, and that shock quickly turned to anger. I assumed that Jared Loughner was influenced by racist rhetoric coming from the Tea Party, and I proceeded to launch personal attacks on my Facebook and Twitter against Sarah Palin. Sarah, I am sorry.
Now I'm asking, Sarah, Rush, Sean, Glenn, Newt, and all those influential persons who have spread hate on the right and left to apologize. For the good of our country; for your (fellow) Senators and Reps; for the 9 year olds that some day want to go into politics; please just apologize for spewing hate. Three words can make all the difference in the world to your followers and change the tone of political discourse in our great nation.
Without wading into the debate over how/if hateful speech influenced this particular tragedy, I will say this has been my observation: there are many more influential figures on the right who spew hate than on the left. I know I'm opening a can of worms with this statement, but it is my perception and I understand others will have different perceptions. Obviously, there are hateful figures on both sides. Beyond this shooting in Arizona, there have been other tragedies in the past which were a result of a toxic political environment such as that being influenced by the Tea Party.
The truth is, there are crazy people in this world. Even "sane" humans are very psychologically complex, and we never know how our words and actions influence others; those of us who use hateful speech at times should all feel a sense of guilt when someone is driven towards violence, but those people with a national forum such as reporters and public figures should have a particularly acute sense of guilt.
While we may disagree on the issues, we all understand the value of human life.
As Gabby said, there are consequences to your rhetoric and actions.
We should all think about Gabby's statement against the backdrop of the value of human life that we all understand. We may know violence is not the answer, but when we create an environment of hate, those who don't know any better and are unstable--as past events have proven--can turn towards violence.
Sarah, Rush, Sean, Glenn, Newt, etc.: Three words. I. am. sorry. I know it may be difficult for you to accept responsibility for your own words/actions, but if any of you have a heart, you can do it. As much as it confuses me, some people do look up to you for guidance, and you can influence them by showing some real political maturity.
God bless the families who have been impacted by this tragedy.
Update:
I found this quote from former President Clinton particularly timely:
Civic virtue can include harsh criticism, protest, even civil disobedience. But not violence or its advocacy. That is the bright line that protects our freedom. It has held for a long time, since President George Washington called out 13,000 troops in response to the Whiskey Rebellion.