"Those who died here, those who saved life 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, that’s entirely up to us."
Last evening, the President spoke to a city, and to a nation in mourning. It was not a political speech but rather one to help people cope with the tragedy that happened Saturday afternoon in Tuscon, Arizona. I took great comfort in what he said.

It appears as though the murderous assassin was not necessarily politically motivated, but rather a sick individual in need of mental heath care. Already there are some that are celebrating this, as though they should be exonerated from being criticized for their behavior on TV and Radio simply because the shooter wasn't RW-- or LW.

For me, that doesn't matter. There is only one good thing that has happened as a result of this. We are finally having the conversation/debate nationally that should have happened years ago: Is there is too much hate and violence in our political discourse? I would say yes. I have long made my point clear regarding this issue. I, along with others, have been dismissed as any number of things. Unpatriotic, liberal, hateful, incapable of seeing another point of view -- you name it.

To be fair, there is nothing wrong with a heated discussion of ideas. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing. There is something terribly wrong when those that have a platform use it to fan flames that only serve to stir up things. Our social discourse between ideologies and political leanings have always been rough and tumble in this nation, there is no denying that. When an attempted assassination of a congressperson leads for people to make the conclusions they have, I think that is a strong indicator that this problem WAS there. Whether or not this was the shooters motivation does not matter. People in this nation see it. They know it has gotten worse since the beginning of 2009. For anyone to deny that would be dishonest at least, and willfully making this lying at worst. It's been a tempest in a teapot for quite some time, and I think everyone knew this. Tucson was were everything spilled out.

There is a responsibility for those that created this environment, allowed this to happen, and let it fester among our populace. Yes, people should be blamed. Not for what led this individual to murder, but for what led up to people to jump to the conclusion. The conclusion was not wrong, only that assuming it was the motivation behind his actions was. For that and only that I apologize. That said, it is entirely understandable given what we have seen in the past few years. There were the signs, the guns, the threats, the incideiery talk on the radio and TV. Were hear - almost daily - the words Nazi, Maoist Lenin, terrorist, Kenyan, Muslim socialist or communist. We see birther's, 10thrs, and others who constantly are trying to delegitimize not only our Constitution but a black president. We have been told as much by people in elected office. This is not about being 'politically correct'. It's not about only using nice words, it's about the motivation behind the rhetoric that people want changed. I will always be called a libtard behind my back. That is just reality. I really don't care about that. What I care about is the motivation behind the debate. That needs to change. I think that we are finally -- as a nation -- beginning to explore that.

You and I have had this conversation right here on this blog, as well as other venues for discussion. We have been having it for years. We're poli-wonks, after all. It took the murder of 6 people for the rest of the country to finally wake up to what has been happening before our very eyes. I take small comfort in knowing this is what it took. Sometimes, from tragedy comes a chance at redemption. Let's hope our nation can redeem itself.

and
Raine