There are people who harbor strong political beliefs. Then there are nuts. Insanity and delusion are not in the realm of political discourse. They should stay in the domain of mental illness and perverse criminality from whence they originate. Period.
To try and wring out a political message from the terrible tragedy in Arizona is to deny that we live in a world of whackos who sometimes lash out with horrific violence against the innocents of the world. Yet that explanation does not satisfy and so there will be those pundits who will, often with ulterior motives, look to blame those with whom they disagree in a futile attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible with shameful expressions of partisan rancor that dishonors the victims while diminishing their own credibility in the process.
On the left, Paul Krugman, for example, has the vile baseness to actually blame conservative commentators (citing Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh by name even) for creating a “climate of hate” and “GOP leaders” for complicity in said hatred and thus place upon them a measure of culpability for yesterday’s murders. To Mr. Krugman I say how dare you, sir, try to score cheap and transparent political points with the blood of the six dead of Tucson–including a nine-year-old girl. How low of a human being are you? How caught up in your own blind ideology have you become that you cannot discern the difference between a political statement and an act of sheer evil lunacy?
And to those on the right like Gateway Pundit who are trying to label the murderer, Jared Loughner, a “left-wing shooter” whose favorite book was the Communist Manifesto, I say this smacks of scrambling for political cover and reveals a complete disconnect with the true meaning of this event which is this–it had no meaning other than the expression of a madman. And for sake of argument what if what you say is true (which we do not know yet)? Does this make you feel like you dodged a political bullet? Is that how you view such events? Through the prism of its propaganda impact on your own agenda rather than sympathy for the victims and their families? What does that tell you about yourself and your ideological zeal? The only bullets that matter are the real ones that ended the lives of six people who had done nothing to deserve their fates.
There are terrible events that happen in the world, the reasons for which, if there are indeed any at all, are known only to God. We are a nation of 300 million people who agree to disagree on a variety of issues … peaceably, respectfully and ultimately expressed every two years in the most peaceful continuous transition of power the world has ever seen. Do not let the actions of a maniac diminish that fact.
Let us instead honor the memories of those slain; let us pray for the speedy recovery of those injured; and let us not diminish their very real suffering and pain with finger pointing that does nothing but belittle this tragedy while shifting the responsibility away from its rightful and sole owner: the man who pulled the trigger
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