by Eric Sorensen
If you thought American political discourse was polarized before, the mass killings in Arizona have driven opposing opinions even further apart.
On many issues, there is some middle ground for debate. Not today though, not after 20 people were shot by a deranged gunman.
Those on the political left — people who feared that the toxic rhetoric and its gun-slinging imagery could lead to violence — are now themselves angry.
There's no direct link between Jared Lee Laughner targeting a Democrat, and right-wing radio inciting listeners "to take back the country" from Democrats. But the left has seized this moment to stand up and speak out. In an era of ugly political debate (10 Democrats reportedly received death threats after passing the health care bill), Tucson represents a convergence too troubling for some to ignore: increasingly accessible vitriol on broadcasts and the internet, combined with increasingly accessible high-powered weapons.
Items are left at a memorial outside the offices of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona on January 11. Photo by Rick Wilking, Reuters.
So the American left, normally timid about engaging the right on guns and violence, is now expressing full-throated outrage.
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Those on the political right, meantime, have circled the wagons around their usually strident and pro-gun points of view.
One might expect more at A time like this…some reflection on the loss of civility or on the wisdom of allowing anyone to buy a weapon that can rapidly fire off 30 rounds. (Imagine Sirhan Sirhan with a Glock 9mm in the crowded hotel kitchen where Robert Kennedy was shot…modern gun technology makes it possible to kill so many more people so much more quickly.)
But I have not seen even a moment of reflection on the part of hardline conservative opinion makers about the level of public hybperbole. Why? They can't afford to give an inch because that could be construed as admitting a role in the Tucson tragedy. And who would want to admit to that? Instead they must hold to the view that all speech and all guns are good.
So, in a polarized world, the political right has, in effect, retreated to the south pole to defend its position, and the political left has marched to the north pole to express its fury.
In the wake of this tragedy, perhaps civility will have an opportunity to move political discourse into the equatorial centre. We can hope.
Eric is Global National's Washington Bureau Chief.
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