It was only a couple of days after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was gunned down in a grocery store parking lot -- an assassination attempt that killed six others and wounded 13 -- for the tone of the American public to change.No, we didn't really put our focus on the alleged gunman. Although there is still more shocking news about this guy percolating, attention was diverted elsewhere.
Nope, despite his warm and human comments, President Barack Obama barely had 15 minutes in the spotlight.
And, God forbid we hold those -- Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sharron Angle, Sean Hannity -- who pose the most vicious/violent/virulent political and cultural stances accountable!
Instead, we turned our attention to a much more important story -- the announcement that, well, there are really 13, not 12 signs of the zodiac.
Ophiuchus is now the sign for those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17, in case you missed the memo.
The Internet was ablaze with postings about the news of how a wobble in the Earth's rotation, positioning of the sun and other astronomical phenomena changed the astrological book.
I guess this is how we return to civility?
I mean, we saw our politicians lining up to display a more "civilized" countenance than the other guy -- preferably from the other side of the aisle.
We saw wingnuts jump out from both sides of the 2nd Amendment issue -- gun proponents arguing that the assassination attempt should not be a new call to demonize guns; gun opponents suggesting that the 2nd Amendment is outdated.
Personally? The idea of being able to take guns off the streets and out of our homes is an an exercise in ignrance. It can never happen and those who base political careers on the 2nd Amendment from either side are milking a dry cow. Guns will never disappear from the American landscape, nor should they.
New gun legislation? Unnecessary. We have plenty of good laws on the books. The bad guys get their guns from people who understand there is a profitable market out there, that they can make a few bucks peddling their weapons to those who otherwise would be unable to purchase them.
But, gun control is not the issue here today.
It's our shallow mindsets that cannot take more than a day or two to wrestle with a serious problem -- whether it's the dehumanizing of our society or an honest-to-God political discussion rooted in civility rather than vicious attacks.
I don't want to see politics wussified, that would be tragic. We need a good, honest donnybrook when deciding our nation's course.
Health care, the national debt, government transparency are important issues and, quite frankly, there should be no compromise when it comes to passing legislation in these or other serious matters because, as we have seen, compromise accomplishes nothing. All it does is water down a good idea.
But, there is no room for the demonization of those who pose questions or opposing views. All that leads to is attacks on a person's life or livelihood, which is almost as important as making sure we know how the planets are aligned.
Om.
