For some time now, devious undercurrents of hate and anger have been festering in our country.
In recent months, as rhetoric grew red-hot over healthcare reform and immigration, the wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been the target of numerous death threats. Her local office in Tucson had been vandalized and the corner across the street had become a central location for protests. Most recently, a Sarah Palin graphic depicted her district in the crosshairs of a gun.
Politicians in Arizona used the immigration debate to spread falsehoods about mass killings in the desert near the border, sparking hysteria in the streets, portraying a state under siege by immigrants.
The discourse quickly turned venomous. The dangerous rumors were being perpetuated on Internet blogs and by the noisy back-and-forth bickering on cable news networks that covered the congressional campaigns.
As we see now, this practice of feeding on fear and spreading hate is dangerously irresponsible and potentially deadly, and yet, in today’s America it seems there is no escaping it.
To the extent politicians, generally in the GOP these days, fan the flames of hate to further their own personal goals, it seems to me the political class has brought this upon themselves. While I applaud Mayor Schloegel for penning this letter, I’d also be remiss if I did not remind him Continue reading “Welcome to the party George. Did you make sure Phil Bryant got a copy of your letter?”