Blame Game

"We don’t have proof yet that this was political, but the odds are that it was. She's been the target of violence before. And for those wondering why [Gabrielle Giffords] might be a target, the answer is that she’s a Democrat who survived what was otherwise a GOP sweep in Arizona..." - Paul Krugman

"It's not the right,but the left that glorifies criminal behavior and violent imagery." - Rush Limbaugh

"Because I think it's the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business..." - Sheriff Clarence Dupnik

"You could see, just by watching the crowds at McCain-Palin rallies, that it was ready to happen..." - Paul Krugman

"The left is coming and will hit us hard on this. We need to push back harder with the simple truth. The shooter was a liberal lunatic." - Judson Phillips

Is it just me, or did we have a list of people and organizations responsible for the tragic shooting in Tucson before we even had a list of names of Jared Laughner's victims?  The left says the right is responsible, the right says it's the left's fault.  I can't help but wonder if any of these people have based their accusation in fact.  Are we to assume that a list of pundits and public speakers are responsible for Laughner's actions?

Wouldn't it be safer to say that the people responsible for what Laughner did are the people who he lists as influential?  After some digging, one will find that Laughner had published a list of favorite books on his YouTube channel.  On the list - Wizard of Oz, Fahrenheit 451, The Communist Manifesto, Mein Kampf, and The Republic.  So, if we follow the facts, then, the real offenders here are not talk radio, but L. Frank Baum, Ray Bradbury, Karl Marx, Hitler, and Plato, right?

Obviously, it's absurd to assume that Plato is responsible for this tragedy.  Equally as absurd as it is to assume that Sarah Palin is responsible.

So who is really responsible?  JARED LAUGHNER of course!!!  Not Sarah Palin, not Rush Limbaugh, not Plato.

It amazes me how so many media-ites and pundits jump at the chance to politicize a tragedy like this.  This should be a time of national solidarity as we band together to condemn this atrocity instead of a time to point fingers.  It shouldn't be used as an opportunity to blame each other or a map of the US with "cross-hairs" on it, or the voice on the radio.  Finger-pointing only further intensifies an already electric situation.  I am so happy to see that at least President Obama has taken the high road and asked us all to come together and pray for the victims of this tragedy instead of pointing fingers.  I hope that more high profile figures can follow suit.

Is there an underlying theme to all of this that only a few will notice?  The fact that many people seem to point to a gamut of causes for this tragedy instead of squarely blaming the actual perpetrator (at least in my eyes) poses a question.  We all know who pulled the trigger, but why are so many eager to search for the "man behind the curtain" that made him do it?  I know the primary reason for the blame game is that many view this as a chance to advance a political cause, but could it be possible that the search for a puppeteer also indicates a growing lack of emphasis on personal responsibility?