The Arizona Tragedy

Well, I've been thinking about this all week.  What a sad, sad, day for our country on Saturday.  Of course I was conflicted all day because I was also watching the Seattle Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints.  I was having a hard time getting excited about the great game because I was also watching my laptop for updates on the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. 
I will admit that the first thing I thought when I heard the news was, Well it's started now.  All that violent rhetoric had gotten to some crazy wacko and the killings have begun.  But then of course, as I said, I followed the story the rest of the day and the days that followed.  There is no proof that this wacko acted on anything but his own crazy ideas.  But of course there is endless commentary on both sides about this.  It makes me crazy that we all become like little kids when something like this happens.  Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else and very few are taking responsibility for the inflammatory discourse that has been going on the last couple years. 
You know, we are all human.  We are all different and have different opinions about pretty much everything.  Can't we have a debate without the violent rhetoric?  Do we have to use hunting or war metaphors?  Can't we get "fired up" without "reloading"?
Maybe now after that wonderful speech of President Obama's last night people might begin to see how civil we can be to each other.  I'm hearing that many on the right actually liked his speech.  I gotta say I'm pretty surprised.  Usually they manage to find something to pick at.  Of course the usual right wing clowns had their criticisms, but that's what they get paid for.
I really think we need to stop and think about that little nine year old girl who was born on another day of national tragedy and was killed on a day she was pursuing a dream of doing something for her country.  Only God knows what we lost with her.  Hopefully, God has opened a window here for someone else to take her place and do something really great with their life.  Maybe we should all think about what we can do to improve the world from our little spot in it.  Something good has to come from this.