FURTHER NOTES ON TUCSON

President Obama's call for toning down our political rhetoric and bringing more civility into our political discourse is certainly to be applauded. The lack of such civility has been noted for some time and not suddenly discovered with the shooting in Tucson which, according to the evidence so far, was unrelated to our toxic political atmosphere. But one would have to be pretty naive to think that Obama's speech or the many previous warnings about the potential danger of inflamed political rhetoric will now lower the decibel level of the shrill. There may be a short term toning down but one should be skeptical about its staying power. I hope my skepticism is unwarranted. We'll see. Two points:

1. We have arrived, unhappily, at the time when too much of our politics and too many of our politicans are driven by the extremes of their party, particularly on the right. As the Tea Party drove mainstream conservative Republicans farther to the right, liberals at the other end of the spectrum have demanded more attention from Obama and Democrats in Congress. With this kind of increased polarization and the shrillness that goes with it, both sides look for things with which to demonize the other. For example, on the right they have come up with the "birthers" who say Obama was not born in the U.S. and thus can't be President and the claim that Obama is a Muslim, not a Christian. While the vast majority of Americans reject that kind of "stuff", it is out there and doesn't go away despite the evidence to the contrary.

And so it will remain with the linkage now made between vitriolic political rhetoric and would-be political assassins. While evidence in the Tucson shootings rejects this theory for that shooting, it doesn't mean the next mentally deranged person won't be driven by his or her own political demons which include the political atmosphere. The point is that the linkage has gained a foothold in the national psyche and will emerge as needed by whomever can make political points with it. And despite the appeals for more civility by both Democrats and Republicans, the shrillness is likely to continue with a principal source continuing to be right wing radio talk shows which dominate the airwaves.

2. I must preface this point by saying I am no fan of Sarah Palin and am in full+ agreement with what has been said about her lack of qualifications to be President. This point relates to the quick judgment made by some of the media regarding Palin's use of crosshairs to target persons she thought should be defeated in the last election. This, it was implied, illustrated the toxic political atmosphere that motivated the shooting. While cleared of any association with the "why" of the shooting, she had set herself up for hasty judgment. Her frequent identification with gun culture language (e.g., "don't retreat, reload") and her macho willingness to have herself filmed using a shotgun or rifle is a part of her background. So the association made between Palin and the motivation of the shooter, is now added to that part of her background and won't just disappear. It will have the same standing as the "birthers" and the assertions about Obama's religion. Such views are held by a small minority on the right fringe and thus it will be with the fringe at the other end of the spectrum regarding Palin. This kind of stuff just doesn't go away. However recessed in the mind it might be, it is now a part of her political baggage to be whispered and trotted out as needed in the future and presented as fact rather than disproved theory.

In sum, while all evidence points to the Tucson shooting as the act of a mentally deranged person driven by his own non-political demons, our dark side, confrontational politics and its potential for random, deadly violence now has a place on the national agenda.