At InTheAgora, recently, I posted this comment on the current political climate in the United States:
"...I do actually agree that the political climate has really soured and that it has been worse for the past several years than it was in either 2001 or early 2005. Actually, I also think that it is snowballing and that something needs to be done about it...."
"I do not think that angry political commentary caused the shooter to do what he did. Those YouTube videos of his make me wonder whether he was even capable of following that kind of commentary enough that he would be able to react to it or act on it in some way. Still, for two reasons, I think that the shooting ought to be making people think about how things have gotten out of control, in politics.
"First, even if paranoid rumors and caustic political commentary did not cause this shooting, they could lead to something similar in the future. It would be worthwhile for people to calm down and keep their claims about the other side rooted in reality, at least.
"Second, until Saturday, there would have been a lot of people who would have claimed that Rep. Giffords is a subversive agent of some sort of 100-year 'progressive' plot to uproot Americanescence and import socialism, who cannot be trusted, and who intends to cause us harm. (There are others, of course, who assume similarly unlikely things about conservatives or Republicans.) I do not know how many people would still say that about her, now, but I think that a lot of people have been shocked back into reality and into realizing that, first, she is a person (which is the most important fact, since people are something that we ought to treat with respect and care about), second, there is no evidence worth acknowledging that she is a part of some ominous plot against America, and third, she very likely meant/means well.
"The lesson is that we should make a point of recognizing these things even when the person in question hasn’t been shot. I do not expect politics to become perfectly civil and honest, but we need to build up some sort of 'herd immunity' to guard against the spread of anti-[the other side] hysteria. More people need to remember that even though criticizing the 'other side' is normal in politics, we need to be responsible, stay calm, avoid assuming the worst about the other side, and stop buying into everything that we hear others saying against them."
It is important for each of us to remember, also, that this excess is not just something that our opponents do. Recognize the possibility that you, yourself, need to be a little more calm and a little more careful in deciding what to believe and who to accuse.
