From the War of Words to the Real Thing

Yesterday, North American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was struggling between life and death in a hospital in Tucson, Arizona. Six more people lost their lives after being shot while participating in a political event. The aggressor was a young man, age 22, who was against the Democratic congresswoman’s progressive ideas, such as immigration reform, stem-cell research and sources of alternative energy. Giffords had already suffered from attacks in her electoral office when Obama’s health care reform was passed.

The political climate in Arizona is very tense, a feeling that has been expanding to other areas of the United States. This is the result of the radical discourse of the ultraconservative tea party, who sees the federal government as a threat to the democratic values of the “authentic United States”. For a while now, the more conservative media has been lightly throwing around incendiary proclamations that could have devastating consequences. This way of practicing journalism has already spread to other countries in the world — unfortunately, with great success.

Politicians need to be aware that their words and attitudes can stir up hatred or serve as a civic example. Unfortunately, it seems that this more ferocious style of politics is gaining the upper hand, especially in the United States. In a country with a great quantity of firearms in the hands of the people, it was only a matter of time until a tragedy like the Tucson incident occurred. It needs to be clarified who and what motivated the young Jared Loughner to commit a crime like this, but it is also necessary for the political classes, who point their fingers and blame other people for all of the country’s ills, to realize the repercussions their attitudes can have. As Obama himself said shortly after the attack, “Such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society.”