On Saturday morning, before she was shot, Gabrielle Giffords was performing one of her most vital duties as a public servant. She was meeting with the public.
The Arizona congresswoman knew there were risks; last March, the windows of her office were shattered after her vote for health care reform. During her hotly contested campaign for reelection, gun gimmicks and imagery abounded.
On a map on Sarah Palin's political action committee's website, Giffords' district was among a number that had been depicted with cross hairs. Her election opponent, meanwhile, held a campaign event in which participants were offered the opportunity to fire a fully loaded M-16 with him, a symbol of his assault on Giffords' seat.
But none of this deterred Giffords from convening another of her "Congress on Your Corner" events. For she, like virtually every public official, understands the imperative of direct interaction with constituents.
During my 35 years in elected office in Los Angeles, I've been to hundreds of neighborhood meetings and town halls. Only when I'm in the community can I hear -- and feel -- the aspirations and frustrations of my constituents. Without this kind of relationship, I'd be left with middlemen of pundits and pollsters to help me gauge the public pulse -- a very poor substitute for face-to-face encounters.
I feel certain that this weekend's horrific shooting spree will not deter most public officials from meeting with large, sometimes unruly gatherings of constituents. Indeed, should our leaders become reluctant or fearful to engage the public they represent, our political system itself would be put at risk.
To be sure, it's clear from all accounts that Giffords' alleged assailant, who killed 6 people in a matter of seconds, was disturbed long before the bloodshed. He was rejected for military service, and he was expelled from community college for his bizarre behaviors. His disjointed and paranoid screeds against the government speak for themselves. (The fact that he was able to easily and legally buy an automatic handgun is a topic for another day soon.)
But I also believe that it's possible troubled individuals teetering on the edge of mayhem can be pushed into action by incendiary language mostly intended to win elections or amass TV ratings, words that create a climate of hostility, aggression and violence.
Congresswoman Giffords, who remains in critical condition, may have put it best last spring when she was asked about her district being targeted with cross hairs on Palin's election map.
"When people do that," Giffords said, "they've got to realize there's consequences to that."
For the time being, I'd suggest that politicians and media personalities who exploit public fears and advance their careers through the use of vitriol, ratchet down the rhetoric and discipline themselves as we all reflect on the events that led to this national tragedy.
Brad Hirschfield: Palin's Charge of Blood Libel Plays the Jewish Card
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_shooting_congresswoman_poll;_ylt=AlG4.qP_WOgyJBvCSODE8KOyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTJjNWl0Mm1jBGFzc2V0A3BvbGl0aWNvLzIwMTEwMTEyLzQ3NDc3BGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNtYWpvcml0eWRvZXM-
Sorry the First Amendment gives us the freedome to speak as much as you want to shut down free speech. Your version of hate speech is much different from mine.
ObamaCare for instance needs to be repealed.
Rush, O'rReilly and the rest of the sub-prime players are already jumping up and down saying the left is both happy about this and using it as an excuse to ratchet things up another notch.
Yeah rush, we just love having our government Representatives sh.ot. And those innocent bystanders? Who cares?
It says a lot about about who THEY care about when their first response is, " Don't blame me!"
It may not be completely true that there is a direct correlation between nasty violent rhetoric and events such as Saturday's, but it's still a good start to tome it down and try to at least remember what civility IS.
I guess it's time to lead by example, and hope no more innocent lives are lost.
The ironic thing is that perhaps if mental health care wasn't off-loaded by the state of Arizona, that sad, scary person might have gotten some help before going off the rails and taking lives.
But the GOP doesn't want health care reform or it would seem, even affordable health care.
Or name those safety net programs they're willing to keep rather than buy another already-due-for-mothballing- fighter jet?
There aren't any in case you didn't know the answer.