Shootings, shame and the situation of American Politics

By now I hope everyone is aware that Arizona Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords was shot and nearly killed by a deranged young man during the past week.

While she was hit, several, including a 9-year old girl, were killed during the rampage.

The media is always trying to sensationalize what it can to get ratings. I don't begrudge them this, if they don't make money, they won't exists. Nevertheless, the way the media jumped on this shooting as an example of the polarization of American Politics was premature.

We know a few things about the shooter, Jared Loughner. We know he was alienated from friends, was rejected from the military for a failed drug test and that he had two minor run-ins with police several years ago.

What we still don't know is why he shot and killed several people. Some friends have called him a nihilist, some said he believed that dreams not reality we what mattered. None have said that Sarah Palin, Glen Beck or on the other end Keith Olberman had anything to do with it and shame on the media for jumping to that conclusion.

Contrary to what it seems most people think, most in the media really aren't out with an agenda. They want to get the facts right. In this instance, NPR actually reported that Giffords was dead and everyone jumped on the blame politics bandwagon.

But here's the thing. They could be right about politics. Until Loughner speaks or more evidence is released, we don't know why he did it.

We are in fact living in a time of political craziness. In Iran right now Christians are being rounded up for their beliefs and in China, a political dissident recently just "disappeared." In Mexico they can't seem to keep a mayor of police chief alive for more than 24 hours because of drug violence.

When you look at all that I guess we're doing ok. But just because it's not the worst here doesn't mean it's not bad. What good can come when we are governed by a system that allows something like 8 months of governing between election cycles. What can come from a system where beating the other team beats helping those you represent?

Hell what good can come from blogging about it? Even if you showed this to everyone on earth it's just stuff they already know. And knowing it, most still believe that one side is good and the other bad. So please read one of the following statements depending on your political views.

1. Newsflash for the hippies: Barrack Obama and the Democrats aren't saints, George Bush wasn't satan and sometimes the right answer is on the other side of the aisle. Keith Olberman is an idiot.

2. Newsflash for Neocons: Regan didn't rise on the third day and that's ok. Obama is an American and he's not going to eat your children. Sometimes we have to pay taxes and making the rich pay more is ok. Sarah Palin, Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh are not reliable sources of information.

I think a common theme of these blogs will be me saying I don't know how to fix the problems I blog about but I think that's good. Today everyone thinks they have the answer. Well I don't but I'm willing to think about it, and to think for myself using information provided by those who know more than me, not by talking heads on tv and radio.

So again I don't know how to fix the political climate. We can ban idiots from talking, that's unconstitutional. We can't force people to become intelligent, that goes against the idea of freedom.

So since I don't know what to do I will leave you with the wise words of a movie that came out in 1976 and rings true today. The film is Network and the man speaking is Howard Beale played by Peter Finch.

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be........I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. [shouting] You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell,
[shouting] 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"