Why does politics bring out the worst in us? When tragedy strikes, natural or man made our common humanity ought to trump all other considerations. At this very moment I am not in a mood or possessing a sober enough temperament to peruse the commentary that followed the massacre in Arizona. But I have gleaned enough to become genuinely angry. I won't address the specifics but the broader sentiment.
I have had a couple friends annoy me today. One lamenting it wasn't Nancy Pelosi and the other blaming Sarah Palin. I actually have friends across the political spectrum. Everyone jumped the gun today. From the premature announcement of Congresswoman Gifford's passing to pointing the finger of blame.
Let's get this straight. The only person responsible for this is the guy who pulled the trigger. I don't care about his politics. I don't care about his My Space Page. I don't care about his favorite books,movies or anything else. There are plenty of people with similar interests as the shooter, but they didn't shoot 19 fucking people, killing six of them!
The simple truth of his singular guilt however has not deterred those who seek villains lurking in the shadows, pulling the strings of the assailant. So, it's Sarah Palin and her logos targeting Giffords' district. It's all Palin's fault! Let me give all you political novices a lesson. "Targeting" is a term used historically by both parties as campaign fodder. To suggest that "targeting" is uniquely symbolic of one ignores a lengthy political history. Again, it's the shooter.
From what we have been able to discern, the shooter is a first class loon. Some have pointed out his favorite books are "The Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kamph". So? In a world where the Koran and the Bible are invoked to kill, what's so unique about anyone's reading habits?
But let's look at the history and the obvious subjective double standard. Charles Manson said he was inspired by hidden messages in "Helter Skelter". Did we put the Beatles on trial? John Hinkley was inspired by the movie "Taxi Driver". Did we arrest Martin Scorcese or Jodie Foster? Should we have arrested JD Salinger because Mark David Chapman was holding a copy of "Catcher In the Rye?
Additionally, the Unabomber had Al Gore's "Earth In the Balance". So did the gunman at the Discovery Channel Headquarters. Did we arrest Al Gore? What inspired the gunman at the Holocaust Museum?
Many have quoted Palin and gone on about the "target". Food for thought. On 6/14/2008 while campaigning for President, Senator Barrack Obama quoted Sean Connery's famous line from "The Untouchables". He said, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun". On 9/17 2008, he was quoted "I want you to argue with them and get in their face". This rhetoric is typical in political campaigns and is no more a call to violence than anything anyone else has said. I don't agree with Obama on just about anything, but my knowledge and understanding of politics in no way compels me to indict him for the actions of the deranged.Politics is a hardball business and hyperbole has always dominated its vernacular.
The previous paragraph is a demonstration of what's really wrong. It's not the hyperbolic rhetoric of a politician that is the problem. It is our failure to divorce our politics from our humanity. A failure rooted in a willingness to ignore aggressive politicking in those we admire and feign outrage with those we might find offensive. I'm tired of this shit. Six people are dead! More are fighting for their lives. Too many people have their head up their ass. Too many people render accusations when a prayer is essential. It ought to be instinctive. Sadly, it's not. We're more interested in the sanctity of our "core beliefs".
I learned years ago that politics can have negative consequences in every conceivable way, but especially in how I perceive others. I put that behind me. It makes me sick and tired and angry that so many would knowingly or unknowingly exploit tragedy to satisfy their opinions of their "core beliefs". Politics is at its most destructive when we strip away the humanity of those with whom we disagree. An opposition's "philippic" ought not be misconstrued as inciting violence.History is the story of man's inhumanity to man. It is a story replete with those who dance on graves. Six people are dead and too many people have their dancing shoes on.
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