David Brooks is every liberal’s favorite public conservative. I know I find him always thoughtful and often offering a corrective that I need to hear. He has now written on the subject of the murderous rampage this past Saturday. I also saw a fragment of him on the PBS NewHour last night before taking off to our Monday evening Zen meditation group where he challenged the issue of correlation and causality between rampant hate speech, particularly from right wing talk shows and right wing politicians in regard to Jared Loughner’s attempted assassination of Representative Gabrille Giffords, murder of six people and the wounding of many more.
Mr Brooks would rather we focus on Jared Loughner’s fairly obvious mental illness. A worthy subject, no doubt. And one that in time I hope to address from the pulpit I serve.
But, Mr Brooks would also give the mongers of hate speech a pass on responsibility here. And that’s what we’re talking about. Seeing the connection between ubiquitous use of hate speech and the shootings should not be dropped because Mr Loughner’s wasn’t a partisan.
I think by asserting if there is no direct causal relationship we should not make the association Mr Brooks is missing a very important point, the point I tried to make at my Sunday sermon, and which a number of others have made, as well. So, I reiterate…
There is a poisonous atmosphere out there, here. Now, all sides have from time to time indulged the guns and shooting metaphor for political debate. Guns are sometimes thought to be equal to apple pie as the essence of the American experience. But things have gotten much worse of late. The American right wing, particularly Fox news, right wing talk radio and a significant number of right wing politicians have been fanning the flames to a white heat for the past several years. They have crossed some difficult line from debate to hate speech.
As I see it the Tea Party is their ugly child.
The major talking point of this crowd is lock and load.
It now permeates our culture.
It is in the air we breathe.
it is in the water we drink.
This mentally ill young man may or may not have been directly influenced by the poison, but that poison is everywhere. And to assume there is no connection because we cannot make a one to one causal association is, to my mind, not only giving the hate mongers a pass they do not deserve, but letting us all off the responsibility of looking at the abyss we stand upon.
Of a social illness of which poor young Mr Loughner is a symptom.
I don’t know what their individual or collective intent was in using such violent, indeed murderous language repeatedly over these past years. It is difficult, sometimes impossible to read human hearts. Personally, I believe it has been mainly to fire up their “side.” But, along the way it has also demonized those with whom they disagree, dehumanizing, and creating this atmosphere where guns are the answer to society’s questions…
As someone who is on the other side of the cross hairs, I stand up and say, stop.
It is past time we stop and assess what is going on.
The American right speaks of itself as standing for personal responsibility. I think this is one where they should, as is the popular currency of the moment, man up. Admit their part in this sorry state of affairs, and maybe, maybe, dial the rhetoric back a bit.
Otherwise, I think this will not be the end of the matter.
I fear more blood will be spilled, where the causal link will not be vague…
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