The Blame Game

There have been many moments in the last two years where I have been reminded why I voted for Barack Obama. Last night was one of them. His speech at the Tucson Memorial Service was stirring, uplifting, respectful and most of all...accountable.

It was just what we needed.

"But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.

After all, that's what most of us do when we lose someone in our family - especially if the loss is unexpected. We're shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward - but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we've shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others." - President Barack Obama.

There are those who say that examining the raging political discourse in this country is somehow assigning the blame of the shooter onto an innocent society (or more importantly, influential figures.) Sarah Palin released a statement that strongly rejected "The Blame Game" - when it comes to her camp in particular.

"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies … journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible." - Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

I can understand her defensiveness. Given the unfortunate coincidence of her crosshairs/bullseye map she's become sort of the Poster Girl of what's wrong with political discourse in our country.

There have been many, myself included, who, when we heard about this shocking crime made a direct, angry line right to her door to assign culpability on what we considered her blood-stained hands.

As the shock began to subside, a keen awareness began to take its place... at least for me. Like I said in my previous post, most of us really don't think that she intended for the targets on her map to be taken out in a hail of gunfire. In fact it was probably quite to the contrary, as this kind of publicity isn't one that helps her political aspirations in the future. She was simply speaking in terms she understands, and what she truly feels America understands.

Sadly, I can't really say she's far wrong. We live in a soundbite/visual culture that takes one piece of an otherwise complicated puzzle and runs with it. We rely heavily on hyperbolic symbolism for our ham-fisted efforts to get our message across as quickly and as effectively as possible.

Even in the wake of this tragedy, both sides relied on the methods that packed the strongest wallop.

Part of it was because we were angry and didn't know how to react to this huge shock to our society. It felt like a punch, so we punched back... and we were fairly indiscriminate to where our swings landed.

In that sense, there's plenty of blame to go around. Liberals are just as capable of sending death threats to those in office or in the public eye with whom we disagree. In the Hal Sparks Ustream chat room that I helped to moderate, one of our rules is "No Threats."

It was a rule put in place after another moderator noticed that some angry participants were quick to threaten bodily harm to those on the opposite side with whom they disagreed vehemently.

This is a chatroom that attracts primarily those who are left of center to far left, which sadly proves that the "Neo-Cons" and the "Radical Right" don't corner the market on this type of unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous discourse.

It was unacceptable before, and I can promise it's going to be more unacceptable now. There is no place in civil discussion for threats and intimidation. In a very real, literal sense this amounts to terrorism.

The seed of terrorism always, ALWAYS starts with the words that we use toward one another. Any act of violence of this nature starts with verbal or written clues, and it is very much our responsibility to take notice of it and denounce it immediately.

This is a problem in our nation that is NOT, as Sarah Palin says, a matter of "passionate" discourse. Civility is being rejected out of hand to pander to the lowest common denominator. This unchecked disrespect and mounting hatred steals the humanity of your opponent, which it easier to consider them "disposable."

Newsflash! You can have a passionate debate without invoking violent rhetoric, resorting to death threats or using violent imagery as tools of intimidation.

Sarah Palin, or even the "heated" debate in our nation, may very well not be to blame in lighting the match that led to *this* tragedy.

But she very much is to blame for looking at the increasing number of violent episodes in the last two years that ARE politically motivated and dismissing it as good ol' American tradition.

"There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those “calm days” when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols? In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren’t designing a system for perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be no need for government." - Palin.

Such an ideology is simplistic at best. It ignores the sad and scary fact that the shooting in Arizona wasn't an isolated event. These acts of domestic terrorism based on political discord are reaching the primitive level where people DO take to their guns to solve their disputes. There are those who proudly stoke the fires of insurrection, and those who have tragically acted upon the fear and paranoia that results.

If one truly hates violence, as Sarah has said, one doesn't invoke it. These words *do* have consequences. That Gabby Giffords was on Sarah's crosshairs/bullseye map before being gunned down may very well be the most unfortunate of coincidences... but that doesn't mean that it won't be an excuse for someone later on.

Saying that this is just part of a passionate discourse that happens in our country and what makes it so great only fuels the fire under those who would take it a step too far.

It also rejects the idea that we can do anything at all to make things better out of hand, which at its heart is the very antithesis of America.

I personally prefer a leader who doesn't look at something with that level of shrug-of-the-shoulder cynicism. That government Palin speaks about is also one she routinely criticizes; one that is broken and imperfect because it is made up of people who "are not angels."

It must grow and evolve along with its constituents to ensure those lofty promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That cannot happen without first believing we can make it so.

"I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us...we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations." - Obama.

Yes, bad things happen. Bad things have always happened and they will continue to happen. We can't use that as an excuse not to be better than what we were, because that's what those bad things are there to teach us.

And there are many things that are wrapped up in this tragedy from which we can learn... and more importantly SHOULD learn. To shrug it off the cuff as the actions of a lone, "evil" man are short-sighted and dangerous. We can do better. We should do better. And it starts by learning the difference between blame and accountability.

To be accountable for your words does not mean you accept blame for the actions of another. It just means you accept the responsibility of being a part of something a lot larger than yourself.

For whatever reason, Jared Loughner shattered something whole, peaceful and good. It's up to us to pick up the pieces. Not just for those who are gone, but for those who remain.

I am proud to share President Obama's "hopey/changey" mentality that says we ARE responsible for making this world a better place.

There's a saying that a baby is God's way of letting us know he hasn't given up on the human race. God gave us promising new life on a day of tragedy 9 years ago... a new life that, while short, tried to fulfill the hopes and dreams of a devastated nation. She DID try to make the world a better place. She WAS brave enough to get involved, to stick her neck out... to be accountable.

Let us learn from her, and from Daniel Hernandez, who ran toward gunfire and risked his life to ensure the safety of his fellow citizens. Let us learn from Patricia Maisch, who - at 61 years of age - took the responsibility of wrestling ammunition from a dangerous, armed man. She, along with ordinary citizens like Bill Badger, Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zamudio subdued this man and prevented him from continuing on with his killing spree and likely saved many lives as a result.

They are known as heroes now simply because they decided to stop something that needed to be stopped. They were brave enough to get involved in a solution, rather than just bear witness to the problem.

"These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned - as it was on Saturday morning.

Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?" - Obama.

It doesn't take an act of dramatic heroism to change the course of history. It should not considered bravery to take responsibility for the things you do or say. It doesn't take an "angel" to be accountable for our part in the common good. This is the strength of character that lies in the heart of every human being - that can rise above what is to fulfill what can be.

If all we have to do to wrestle ammunition out of a man's hand is to rise above petty name-calling, angry insults or this endless blame game that says all of the problems in the world land on the shoulders of whom we disagree... shouldn't we do it?

And if we don't... should we not be blamed?

We are not responsible for the actions of this gunman.

But we are to blame if we don't learn from it and allow it to happen again.

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - Winston Churchill.