Arizona shooting is a society issue, not a political one

I’m writing this to try to sort through the thoughts bouncing around in my head around the horrible shooting of US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the murder of US District Judge John Roll and five other innocent bystanders. This is my 3^rd attempt at putting this on paper, such is the extent of the effect that this is having on me.

I’ll start by discussing Congresswoman Giffords, as it appears she was the primary target. I admit I was not really familiar with her prior to yesterday. The more I learn about her, the more I like her. Our views are much more similar than they are different, despite the difference in our political party affiliations. I hope that she will survive so that she might continue to try to make a difference.

As for our party affiliations, that’s where I think the problem starts. All day yesterday I was watching my Facebook newsfeed as people weighed in on the tragedy. Sadly, a strong majority were casting blame on various political figures and political organizations. I tried to filter through the noise to get to a conclusion, but was unable to do so.  I saw the news articles highlighting Sarah Palin’s target map. We could spend all day debating whether or not Palin is a nut job, but then we would have figure out how to fill the other 23 ½ hours. But Palin is not the problem. Palin is a symptom of the problem.

I think that as more unfolds about the gunman, we will learn that Palin’s map did not drive the man to go on a shooting rampage. It may have been a minor factor, but only one small piece of the puzzle. All indications are that the suspect is unstable, perhaps even mentally insane or incompetent. When you are dealing with mentally unstable people, anything and everything is possible.  Who knows what sets off someone who suffers from mental illness? History shows that the unpredictable is often to blame. It may have been fueled by health care reform. It may have been immigration related. Who knows, maybe it is not even political, and maybe the guy just tripped. It's still early, and we still have a lot to uncover around what happened.

 I was watching “Meet the Press” this morning, and David Gregory was discussing the story with a panel of US Representatives from both parties, one of whom was the Rev. Emmanual Cleaver. Cleaver is a United Methodist Minister, former Mayor of Kansas City, and now a member of the US House of Representatives. This 15 minute segment was, perhaps, the best presentation of an issue I have seen on the US media. Ever! In summary, the panel seemed to agree that the US political party system is guilty of creating a society where it is acceptable, if not expected, to demonize the opposing side. This creates a society that is divisive, and full of conflict. What I found ironic is that the media plays a huge part in promulgating this divisiveness. Rush Limbaugh, Bill Maher, Bill O’Reilly, and Michael Moore are among the many. This has created a society where most any and every issue is tried on the political stage, with the opposing viewpoints shouting and pointing fingers of blame.

That is why I think this is a society issue, not a political one. We are a society that lives on blame. It’s never our fault, and if it is, then it’s because of something someone else did that drove us to it. I’d love to spend another few hundred words describing how we can fix this problem. Truth is I don’t think we can. It would involve taking a little responsibility for our own actions. I don’t think anyone is ready for that.