Civil Discourse

"Rhetoric about guns, second amendment remedies, encroaching tyranny, and Obama Care had nothing to do with the Tuscan shooting."


Given that our entire political environment has been awash with 'inflamed rhetoric' since President Obama took office, I would argue that it had 'something' to do with shooting at a Democratic Congresswoman.  This is true, because commercials sell products.  If you hear how great hamburgers are, and see people smiling while eating them 24/7, there is an increased likelihood that you are going to hit a burger joint on the way home from work.  Microsoft didn't spend $12 billion dollars last year because commercial programming doesn't work.


Now, while there are no commentators outwardly saying point blank, "We should shoot people we don't agree with, politically."  Sharon Angle said, "You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years."  Besides butchering Thomas Jefferson's words, she thinks you can keep the tyranny of a Democratic Republic at bay with personal arms.  Rather than encourage people to become more democratically active, she thinks you'd be better off arming yourself against your government.  Thankfully, she lost her bid for the senate.


The point here is that we are all shaped, at least somewhat, by our environment and everything in it.  If you hear 50 times a day, from sources you trust, that President Obama is fundamentally changing your country, and leading the U.S. into communism or socialism, you'll begin to believe it.  We hear Sarah Palin every time she opens her mouth say, "Don't retreat, reload."  Talking heads like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck all literally make a living using inflamed rhetoric to drive their ratings higher.  The more outlandish or overtop the more attention they garner, driving their behavior to even worse extremes.  


Glenn Beck has said on Fox News, that he believes President Obama has a deep seated hatred for white people, and if you'll tune into his show, it will only be a matter before you hear how America is under direct attack from the left.  This is to say nothing about Ann Coulter, who's antics make me weep for America.


The most interesting thing about this latest shooting tragedy, is that the Congresswoman said she felt targeted by Sarah Palin's placing crosshairs over her district.  Then Congresswoman Giffords gets shot, and Sarah Palin acts like SHE is the victim in all this.  Only Sarah Palin could wrap herself in gun metaphors and hunting euphemisms, while placing a sniper scope over someone's congressional district WHO GETS SHOT, and then play the unwitting victim.  She has since taken the crosshairs map down, but has admitted no wrong doing, and offered no apology to Congresswoman Giffords for the targeting she felt or the actual shooting that occurred.  


The real victim in this whole thing is civility.  The Republicans see and have spoken about Democrats as their literal enemy, and an actual attacker of America, Freedom, and Liberty.  When you tell your constituents that the other party is the enemy that is currently attacking your America, they diminish their ability to compromise with them, without looking like a turncoat to voters.  


When Republicans or Democrats refer to the other side as the enemy, America loses.