We're Asking the Wrong Question

I have always intended to keep this part of my web presence politically neutral. Anyone who knows me knows where I stand, and they can interact more with me on a political basis on Facebook or Twitter, but in the aftermath of the Arizona shooting, I have been doing a lot of reflecting and have decided to put my thoughts on the matter here, not to generate debate, but just to express what conclusions I've come to over the last few days.



When I first heard the news, seeing it juxtaposed with that fated Palin cross-hair map, I became enraged. The map, the vile rhetoric and increasing anti-government sentiments floating around the media, the target--all of it seemed like too much of a coincidence. We were finally reaping the seeds of political hatred this country has been sowing for the last two years. But then as information about Jared Loughner started coming out, it seemed more like this individual had slightly different motivations, namely mental illness. Certainly he had political reasons for doing what he did, but they seem muddied by his delusions.



Of course, the pundits and political figures that were feeling unjustly scrutinized for their vile rhetoric didn't hesitate to leap at the chance to proclaim, "See? See there? He wasn't a Republican! He was just plain crazy! It wasn't our fault after all!"



But that last part has yet to be proven. We don't know if he acted alone or with an accomplice. Information about this person can only be gleaned from his leavings on Myspace and YouTube, and we only know what the ever-speculative media is telling us. When Loughner goes to court, more information will eventually be revealed, but for right now, it seems as if the people on the far right are more than inclined to exonerate themselves of any role in inciting this particular young man to go on a shooting spree. But everyone seems to be missing something very important in all of this. The question shouldn't be: "Is the vitriolic political rhetoric of the day to blame for this shooting?"



Instead, we should be asking: "Isn't it a poor reflection of today's environment when we even have to ask that question?"



The relentless search for vindication and validation I'm seeing by certain figures seems to be an implicit admission that the political environment they were creating, with the help of the media, is certainly capable of spawning a violent and deadly event, and to me, that's enough for me to say, "Well fix it."



It's a bit like the climate change argument. We have one side presenting the science and another fighting it tooth and nail to find holes in it. And to what end, exactly? To continue the status quo? To those people, I say: stop fighting to vindicate yourself so you can continue being a thoughtless moron. Science or no science,  it's best to err on the side of GOOD, is it not. Wouldn't we ALL be a little better off if we stopped spewing pollutants in the air, recycled a little more, and conserved electricity and water?



Wouldn't we all be better off if we were a little less angry, a little less greedy? It has been demonstrated time and again, both in science and in real life, that lasting change, the kind that actually benefits people, is best achieved through positive means. So how about we use a little more of that and a little less of the acid that's slowly wearing away our souls?



Why must people insist on fighting for their right to continue being assholes and instead stop being assholes and see that we'll have a much better world for it? Maybe then, in a better world, they would have far fewer reasons to be assholes.



I'll end here. But I think we should all think not about who is to blame here but what would cause us to point fingers in the first place.