The United States Constitution’s First Amendment is a vigorous guarantee of, among other things, the American people’s right to speak up about politics or pretty much anything else.
We should treasure that liberty — and exercise it!
But since the recent slayings of six people in Tucson, Ariz., and the serious wounding of Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the same attack, there have been suggestions in the news media and by some liberal politicians that conservative political speech is directly or indirectly responsible for the vicious attack.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Suspect Jared Loughner appears, from news accounts, to suffer from grave mental illness of some type, and there is little if any evidence that he was motivated by conservative talk radio or political leaders. In fact, there has been some indication that he held liberal views — assuming his mental state allowed him to hold any political views at all.
Neither liberalism nor conservatism deserves blame for the shootings that Loughner is accused of committing. Most liberal Americans promote their views by peaceful, lawful means. The same is true of conservatives.
We do not believe strong rhetoric from either side “causes” someone to kill — much less that such rhetoric should be suppressed by government.
What would be appropriate, however, is for courtesy and respect to reign over political discourse. We should “agree to disagree without being disagreeable,” as the saying goes.
That won’t prevent a deranged person from causing mayhem, but it will make for a more harmonious republic.