What will it take for us to realize that our words matter? That rhetoric is not isolated from action? Sadly, and ironically, one who did realize this is now in the hospital recovering from an attempt on her life. Representative Gabrielle Giffords said this of the violent rhetoric of the 2010 political campaigns:
"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action."
Other candidates made statements such as the need for "second ammendment remedies" (the right to bear arms), or the need to "lock and load." I don't think that those who made these statements actually wanted to see violence occur. However, there must be more responsiblity taken by our leaders and those in the public sphere. What if our rhetoric spoke of peace, tolerance, and respect rather than hate, violence, and condemnation of those with whom we disagree?
I would love to see this change the nature of the political discourse. I don't know that it will, but one can always hope...
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