Words Fail Me

I guess it is the kind of thing that you never get used to — and maybe it's a healthy sign that I am not.

I mean, I really would have expected someone like myself, someone who grew up with this kind of thing happening a lot more frequently in this country than it does today, to be better prepared for it than I was.

Even so, I was shocked when I heard today that Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, the target of an apparently crazed gunman in Tucson, Ariz. It literally left me at a loss for words, and even now I am trying to sort out how I feel, what I think.

Thankfully, it appears she will survive this attack, although I suppose only her doctors are currently in any kind of position to anticipate how complete her recovery will be or how long it may take. At this point, I suppose, they probably can't be too sure of much at all.

And I don't really want to speculate on any of that, either. For that matter, I don't really want to speculate on the gunman's motives or his political leanings.

There are plenty of people who are preoccupied with that tonight.

I think that may be part of the problem. Our society is far more interested in pointing fingers, in assigning blame than in correcting the problems those errors have produced.

The fact is that we are all to blame, no matter which side of the political spectrum we may occupy.

We are all guilty because the "toxic political environment" mentioned by the New York Times has been nurtured by both the left and the right. It does not exist only in Arizona nor does it exist solely in the South or the West or any other region of the country. The fact that a Democrat was the target today is no guarantee that a Republican will not be the target tomorrow.

Both sides have been guilty of irresponsibly fanning the flames of political passions, and now those passions are burning out of control.

This is when we need real leaders to step forward and bring the two sides together, to find common ground.