Tone It Down

As my community mourns the murderous weekend tragedy here in Tucson and prays for the speedy recovery of Arizona’s Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other wounded victims, the debate has begun about what sparked the rampage by alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner, and the larger societal meanings of his presumed motives.

I welcome this dialogue as healthy, and even necessary. But I caution against a rush to conclusions. An emotional Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, in a media briefing following the massacre on Saturday, offered the first link of Loughner’s possible motive and the state of political discourse in the nation, particularly in Arizona with its often vicious debate over illegal immigration.

“The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” he said. “And unfortunately, I think Arizona has become ... the mecca for prejudice and bigotry. There’s reason to believe that this individual might have a mental issue, and I think that people who are unbalanced might be especially susceptible to vitriol.”

Yup, the Internet, the Sunday newspapers and TV talk shows all picked up on that theme, almost assuming as fact that those horrific seconds of terror outside my Tucson supermarket were spawned by the ugly politics of the day. I know Sheriff Dupnik and I served as a chaplain in his department for almost 20 years, he’s a good man. Yes, there is some reason to believe that the motive behind this massacre was somehow crazily political. But from what is known so far, perhaps the emphasis should be on the crazy.

Folks, it is impossible to ascribe rational meaning to Loughner’s mixed-up politics on the basis of his YouTube videos, his MySpace profile, his rejection for military service, his suspension from community college and the mounting reports of his unusual behavior. This is clearly a young man increasingly alienated from the mainstream and in need of help, professional help!

But..having raised this caution in the case of Jared Lee Loughner, I do second the motion of those now appealing for a cooler, more responsible tone to political debate – at all levels. Political rhetoric far too often is incendiary and, as Dupnik said, outrageous. The seemingly growing sentiment that “I’m right and you’re evil” has serious ramifications.

We need to tone it down not because of the insane act of a mentally troubled assassin, not just because other unbalanced souls might be “susceptible to vitriol,” but because we will have a better Arizona for it and a friendlier community.