It’s unfortunate that sometimes it takes a significant event to force us to step back, reflect, and determine where we are. These events occur for us individually as well as collectively as a society and as a nation.The tragic events in Tucson this past weekend is one of those.
The finger-pointing and accusations were flying within hours of the shootings even before any facts were known. We still don’t know many facts today and we never may know the real reasons for this insane act.
New York Times Nobel Prize winning columnist Paul Krugman quickly jumped to blaming the Tea Party, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and conservatives in general. He commented, “Violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate.” He believes conservatives created this environment of hate.
Florida Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson didn’t help to create an environment of unity when he referred to Tea Party Challenger Daniel Webster as “Taliban Dan” during the mid-term elections. The rhetoric during these elections across-the-board was brutal.
Let’s just call it even. There is enough blame to go around on all sides. Regardless of whether the accused was politically motivated or not, we all know our political process and dialogue has grown toxic and does not help the cause of addressing the challenges we face as a country. We have serious challenges ahead of us. Whether we want to accept it or not- they will not be solved as Republicans, Democrats, or Tea Party; they will be solved as Americans.
Commentator David Gergen states it best, “This is not a moment to point fingers and make accusations. But it is a time to pray for the victims- and pledge to each other that we will struggle for a more civil and decent America.”
To honor the victims, and with prayers for Gabrielle Giffords, let’s come together to at least agree on that.
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