Monday, January 10, 2011

Say No to Hate

It is no surprise to me that there has been a tragedy in Arizona (Congresswoman Gifford and 19 others shot) considering the rhetoric of radical elements in our society. It was only a matter of time before some unbalanced person was pushed over the edge. If we cannot engage in civil discourse, all is lost.

On March 30th of last year in a blog post titled "Playing with Dynamite" I wrote:
There is nothing to gain and everything to lose by stirring the emotions of unbalanced individuals who may resort to violence. Hopefully it won't take a tragedy to stop the insanity.
I wrote this following an incident at our bank where my husband was verbally abused by a very angry man because of the Obama sticker on our car. At about the same time, Arizona Congresswoman Giffords and several other members of Congress were targeted by the radical right for removal from office because they voted in favor of fixing the broken health care system. 

The rhetoric is about political gain and personal power not about what is right and good for our country or the world. Those who use hate must stop now and be held accountable for their reckless actions. It is our duty to stand together in the face of violent words and say we will allow no more.  

Send a message to everyone you know asking them to support tolerance and reconciliation and to speak out against hate. How can we expect the world to find peace if we cannot respect each other in our own country.

Peace, blessings, and prayers for the victims of this tragedy.

2 comments:

  1. "The rhetoric is about political gain and personal power not about what is right and good for our country or the world." I agree wholehearted with this. I also think it's important to understand that this debate is not about freedom of speech. Nor is it about comments made in the heat of anger or emotion. It's about the quality of speech, deliberate and calculated, issued by people in positions of influence, wealth, and power.
    As the predictable responses have comeforth since this tragedy, it is disappointing that no one, on the left or the right, who has used violent imagery in their political discourse, has stepped forward to acknowledge that there is no place for this in our political dialogue, or to pledge to do anything different. What I have heard is just one more repetition of the same old cycle - justify your actions, attack anyone who disagrees with them. Sometimes I think we need a new Constitutional amendment that requires politicians to practice accountability. Something more than weepy press conferences when a mistress is exposed.
    As someone who came of age in the late 60's and early 70's, and saw one after another of those speaking out for change be shot down, I have to wonder at this point if we ever will learn. Now we add six more people to our legacy of being the most violent industrialized country on the planet. One a child, others who were wounded or killed protecting a loved one.
    To go back to the point you made - when the Senate minority leader, one day after a depressing (in my view) midterm victory for his party, says our only agenda is to get Obama out of office, it seems clear that we need to look elsewhere, closer to home, to find our leaders and heroes. Where did all the grown-ups go?

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  2. Thank you for this thoughtful comment bc.

    Some have said there can be no direct link made between the tragedy in Arizona and the radical rhetoric. It is because of the very fact that we don't know how our words will be taken by others and because we can't prove or disprove a link that we need to be more cautious.

    As bc said in the above comment, "It's about the quality of speech, deliberate and calculated, issued by people in positions of influence, wealth, and power." Every child in school today learns that words hurt. Perhaps our politicians need to go back to school.

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