No Political Message, Just Madness

Written by Brad Schaeffer on Sunday January 9, 2011

Sometimes, an act of violence is just a product of madness, not politics.

There are people who harbor strong political beliefs. Then there are nuts. Insanity and delusion are not in the realm of political discourse. They should stay in the domain of mental illness and perverse criminality from whence they originate. Period.

To try and wring out from this terrible tragedy a political message is to deny that we live in a world of whackos who sometimes lash out with horrific violence against the innocents of the world. Yet that explanation does not satisfy and so there will be those pundits and pontificators who blame those with whom they disagree in a futile attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible.

On the left, Paul Krugman blames conservative commentators  for creating a “climate of hate” and  “GOP leaders” for complicity in said hatred.  How caught up in ideology must one become to lose the difference between a political statement and an act of sheer evil lunacy?

On the right, Gateway Pundit audaciously labels the murderer  a “left-wing shooter” whose favorite book was the Communist Manifesto. This labeling forces the question: Is it your top priority to evade political blame? Is that how you view such events - through the prism of its propaganda impact on your own agenda?

There are terrible events that happen in the world, the reasons for which, if there are indeed any at all, are known only to God.  We are a nation of 300 million people who agree to disagree on a variety of issues…peaceably, respectfully and ultimately expressed every two years in the most peaceful continuous transition of power the world has ever seen.  Do not let the actions of a maniac diminish that fact.  Let us instead honor the memories of those slain today; let us pray for the speedy recovery of those injured; and let us not diminish their very real suffering and pain with finger pointing that does nothing but belittle this tragedy while shifting the responsibility away from

its rightful and sole owner: the man who pulled the trigger.

Category: News