Freedom Isn’t Free

By Diane Gooch

When I learned of the tragic shootings in Tucson this past weekend, I was immediately taken back to a hot summer day just months ago, when I was standing at the Korean War Memorial in Washington DC reading the words “Freedom is not free.” Like most, I had viewed that phrase in the context of war. However, the horrific events of this past Saturday remind us that all too often civilians, public servants and occasionally political leaders are casualties in defense of our freedom, too.Promoting freedom is not something we only do in combat, but in living our lives in the American spirit and traditions so many fought to preserve, protect and defend. That is what Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was doing by hosting a “Congress on your Corner” event at a local grocery store. That’s what dozens of her constituents exemplified with their participation. That is the quintessential American political ideal in its most basic form.

Having lost my brother Paul in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, I chose to believe that the lives of almost three thousand Americans that day were not lost in vain; that in some way, their loss helped our nation grow stronger and more resilient. As we try to understand what happened in Tucson, the focus should remain on mourning the tragic losses, which includes a nine-year-old girl interested in civics and government, by helping their families and community know that the death of their loved ones will bring us closer as a nation, not exacerbate our divisions.

Every tragedy invites an inevitable pursuit of blame and accountability beyond the obvious culprit. But the reality is that this crime came at the hands of a lone gunman who needed no more provocation than his own demons and delusions. The unpredictable, senseless and evil tendencies of a madman should not connect dots that need not be connected.

The shootings that occurred in Tucson are tragic on so many levels; but have little to do with a partisan agenda or volatile political discourse. As Ross Douthat observed in The New York Times, “There is no faction in American politics that actually wants its opponents dead. That may seem like a small blessing, amid so much tragedy and loss. But it is a blessing worth remembering nonetheless.” That should be our starting point while searching for the “teachable moment” that can emerge from this horror.

We know the shooter showed signs of being troubled, and like most assassins in modern American history, was likely mentally ill. Reports indicate that he suffered from isolation, paranoia and schizophrenia. It is our mental health system, not simply gun laws, that failed to protect society from such a dangerous character.

During my work on behalf of pediatric acquired brain injury, I have been shocked to discover how far behind we are in scientifically understanding and medically treating brain disease and injuries, even minor ones. What we do know is that there is a direct correlation between these issues in youth and adolescence leading to mental health and behavioral problems in adults. The fact that brain research remains grossly under-funded and treatment so poorly developed, means we are not addressing such a pervasive and devastating problem. Our society pays the price.

I was back in Washington DC last week, participating in many events marking the start of the 112th Congress. In my meetings with several members of Congress, I sensed universal optimism and excitement to begin doing the work the people sent them to do. Congresswoman Giffords clearly exemplified that spirit, and was quickly back to work meeting with constituents just a day after returning from the capital. What a great work ethic and testament to her respect for the office she holds.

In the wake of this tragedy, let’s allow her example to reign and not those of the political opportunists who seek to define this tragedy as a point of division in our nation. Those who died that day will not have done so in vain if we remain a nation unified in mourning and determined to move together past this devastating event.
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The Big Myth

Dispatches from San Juan by “Teddy Roosevelt”

The recent tragedy in Arizona has once again opened the debate about the “tone” of political discourse.  The media and certain politicians hawk the story that it has reached a new low.

Many have pointed out how those who complain seem to have a double standard or seem to be using a tragedy that had very little to do with politics for political gain.

That however all begs the question, has political discourse reached a new low?  Well any one who has actually bothered to read a history book knows that to be utterly false.

Political rivals Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton fought a duel that ended Hamilton’s life and Burrs career.  Andrew Jackson was involved in numerous duels that at their core stemmed from political disputes. One of those duels crippled his arm. In the up run to the Civil War tempers ran rather high and violence was rampant not only among the common man but among politicians as well.  Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina, who severely beat Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate with a cane in response to a rather nasty speech Sumner had given that referred to Brooks’s cousin, South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler. During the attack South Carolina Rep. Laurence M. Keitt held off those who wished to help Sumner with a Pistol. Sumner suffered from the results of the beating for years afterwards.

After the most violent of political disputes, the Civil War, the American political scene continued to be rough and tumble.  The gunfight at the OK Corral was a cultural battle and to a large extent a battle between “business interests” but it was also a political battle.

Did you know the Earps where Republicans and the Clantons and their allies where Democrats?

The Republicans hammered FDR pretty hard until the War started and within more recent memory many of us can remember the heated political vitriol of the 1960’s that sometimes spilled into violence.  This does not even begin to touch on the political violence that runs through out our history.

Now before you start screaming, I am not advocating that it is OK to resolve our differences with gun fights and violence (at least not publicly).

My point is let’s not loose perspective.  Yes there are a lot of passionate people out there. Sometimes they even say stupid things.  However the situation is no where near the worst it has ever been in this country.  In fact historically speaking it is pretty damn tame.

I think we have much more to fear from those who exaggerate the circumstances in an effort to silence dissent.

“Teddy Roosevelt” is a pseudonym for a long term MMM contributor who used to blog at Monmouth Bullmoose.  “Teddy” frequently posts as TR in the comments.

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Mr. President

By Art Gallagher

Yesterday, for the first time in his presidency, in my biased point of view, Barack Obama was presidential as he addressed a memorial service at the University of Arizonia.   As Jonathan Freedland wrote at The Guardian, Obama rose to the moment and transcended it.  Governor Chris Christie said the president’s speech was “excellent…just what a leader should do at a moment like this,” on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning.

As I listened to Obama refer to scripture and invoke the G word last night as he sought to heal the emotional wounds of a city and nation shocked by the Tucson shootings, and to bring people together, I imagined Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former spiritual advisor who uses scripture to divide, having a stroke and the ACLU trying to come up with a legal strategy to suppress the president’s first amendment rights.

Obama told the truth about the Tucson shootings.  We don’t know what caused a troubled mentally ill 22 year old man to go on a shooting rampage.  We know it was not political rhetoric, as has been alleged by the Pima County Sheriff trying to deflect attention from his department’s own failures and by far too many of the left who crassly attempted to use the tragedy to advance their agenda and silence their opponents. “It’s not,” Obama ad libbed from his prepared text, referring to the allegations that vitriolic rhetoric caused the shootings.

Obama was civil in calling for civility in our political discourse, as we strive to become a more perfect union.

Time will tell if President Obama has had a breakthrough in his ability to lead.  If the Barack Obama who showed up in Tucson last night keeps showing up, his speech last night will go down in history as one of the great presidential addresses.

If you missed the speech or wish to study it, it can be viewed here.

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