Words Have Meaning

Yesterday another American tragedy unfolded. Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range in broad daylight. Giffords was the target, but a federal judge, a 30-year-old congressional aide, a 9-year-old girl and two women and one true gentleman lost their lives in the attack; there were 20 victims in all.

This is a horrible turn of events in the lives of the victims and their families and I offer them my deepest and most sincere sympathies.

Right now, however, I want to address what the surprisingly unbiased news coverage steered clear of yesterday: the blame game. Obviously, the shooter, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, is most to blame in this tragedy. He held the gun. He pulled the trigger. He deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law.

But that is not the whole story.

When I turned on CNN yesterday very soon after the shooting and saw what had happened, my thoughts very quickly turned to the violence-inciting language that has so cavalierly been thrown around in the political arena in recent years. And one name was in the forefront of my mind: Sarah Palin.

I generally make a very conscious effort to tune out everything Palin says because I find it to be irritating and unintelligible. But I was reminded yesterday of her irresponsible rhetoric calling for people to “reload” rather than retreat. So on a hunch, I googled “Sarah Palin” and “Gabrielle Giffords.” Not surprisingly, I found this:

Palin calls this her “Congressional Hit List.” But Palin is not the only one embracing violent metaphors in politics. Giffords’ opponent in the last election, Republican Jesse Kelly, called supporters to an election event with this ad:

Before I get knee-jerk comments from a bunch of Palin-loving tea-baggers: No, I am not saying that Palin killed those people yesterday. And, yes, the shooter is to blame for his own actions. But to sit back and say that the fires that Palin and other hate-inducing pundits have been stoking play no role is foolish and irresponsible.

Yes, in this time of tragedy political affiliations should be meaningless. But the fact remains that this was an assassination attempt on a political figure during a political event. We do not know the exact motives of the shooter yet. Maybe they weren’t political. But maybe they were. So before any camp can confidently shout “I told you so!” it might be wise to reflect on the current political environment and culture and admit that maybe, just maybe, what people in the spotlight say has an impact.

Next week we’ll celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day. MLK was assassinated nearly 43 years ago during one of the most politically turbulent decades in recent American history. Do you know who the shooter was? I didn’t. I had to look it up. It was James Earl Ray. I studied the ’60s in depth in college and casually ever since. But I didn’t know Ray’s name off the top of my head. Because even though he is the man who pulled the trigger,  the political culture of fear and racism that pervaded politics and American life in the ’60s is also to blame. That’s what I remembered.

The shooting yesterday is not an isolated event. Threats against federal judges and prosecutors increased 69% between 2003 and 2008. In the first 3 months of 2010, federal lawmakers received almost 3 times as many threats as in the same period in 2009. Earlier this week, two packages addressed to the Governor of Maryland and the State Secretary of Transportation ignited inside Maryland state buildings. Another package addressed to the Secretary of Homeland Security ignited before reaching its target.

It is too easy to write off these statistics and the inflammatory language thrown about by Palin and other extremist talking heads as background noise in the lives of the disturbed individuals perpetrating these attacks.

Those talking heads did not pull the trigger, but they are not innocent bystanders either. Words can be powerful tools and if they were unaware of that fact they would not be talking heads. Regardless of whether Loughner is revealed to have been motivated by Palin’s or Kelly’s or anyone else’s rhetoric, it’s a time for reflection and change. Because he could have been. And sooner or later, someone will be.

But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

~Lord Byron

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