Well, the news from Tuscon was stunning. It's as if people have no idea of the consequences of their actions. There is a lot of hate out there on the internet, and for certain types of people it emboldens them in such a horrible way. My husband and daughter were watching football and I was reading when the announcers broke in with the news. I was eighteen when I heard over the radio in my college dormitory bathroom Walter Cronkite's voice. I heard about RFK and MLK on the radio as well. Now we see images immediately. But the confusion and speculation is the same. People don't agree to disagree any more, they want to eliminate the opposition. We had better watch out or we will be our own worst enemy. In fact, I'm afraid we already are. We provide this hateful environment, and ready access to guns, and glamorization of vicious acts. If our only goal on TV and elsewhere is fame, then bad behavior will get that as easily as good.
Fear multiplies. A person fears the unknown, commits an act that ripples that fear, and calming down and attempting to find sane solutions to these acts becomes even more of a struggle. The rhetoric will heat up further. I hope people will meditate, pray, take political steps to reign in this violent, gun crazy culture we are inhabiting. Stop calling cowardly acts brave, and brave acts stupid. We ought to be able to have public discussion about important topics. We need to be civil. We need to respect each others right to be heard. But if speech in incitement to violence, then it's time to speak out against it and name it what it is. It is fear lashing out, anger taking over reason, and hate replacing love.
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