An American Tragedy

On the morning of January 8th, 2011, United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at a public rally that she often held to reach out to her constituency. Giffords survived the hail of gunshots, but 6 others weren't so lucky. Among the fallen, a U.S. federal judge appointed by George H.W. Bush and a 9 year old class president from Mesa Verde Elementary.

This tragedy is not about politics. It's not about left, center, or right; red or blue; liberal or conservative. It's about coming together as a nation and recognizing how very, very wrong this is. It's tragic no matter how you look at it. 6 people died.

6 Tusconians. 6 Arizonans. 6 Americans.

The victim was a public servant that was most easily accessible for the shooter, but the target was the government. A government that is so out of touch with the needs of the American people that they throw blame around more than a pigskin on Sunday afternoon.

Rep. Giffords was not the one that 22 year-old Jared Lee Loughner should have been upset with. Giffords was out on the street corner allowing people to walk up, shake her hand, and tell her what the needed. A Congressional Santa Claus. Loughner should have been upset with those that do the blame-tossing, the nitpicking, and the shady deals.

Again, this is not a political issue. So why make it one? While everyone has acknowledged that it's a tragedy and a terrible occurrence, the opportunity has been seized by the left to demonize the right. Fear. Paranoia. Taking advantage of 6 fallen Americans and 13 wounded others to glorify themselves and portray their opponents as advocacies of chaos and violence. I had more than one person, upon hearing of the shooting before details were released, say it was a Tea Partier.

Sarah Palin is being blamed. She said, prior to the election, that Gifford's seat was "targeted".

Targeted. That's all. Oh, and a map with 3 crosshairs in certain parts of Arizona. No photo of the victim with such paraphernalia, just a state.

(Click Here)Sarah Palin Campaign Tool

I'm sorry, I didn't know a map of the United States was considered 'advocating chaos and violence'.

Now, a legitimate concern: Giffords opponent Jesse Kelly held a rally prior to the elections and was advertised "Get on Target for Victory in November: Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly." That is deeply concerning. Kelly used the rally to bring his military service to light, but by dragging Giffords' name into the rally, he sent the wrong message. That is rightfully concerning, but there's a reason he lost. Bad campaigning, wrong message to send.

I digress. Fact of the matter is, this is nobody's fault. A mentally unstable man committed a heinous crime in an act of defiance against the government. Let's not continue the blame game. We should instead remember the fallen, and hope that no other similar crimes occur against servants of our nation.

Remember the fallen.

John M. Roll, 63,
Gabriel Zimmerman, 30,
Dorwin Stoddard, 76,
Christina-Taylor Green, 9,
Dorthy Morris, 76.
Phyllis Schneck, 79.