MY NEW HERO
Pima (AZ) County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik
“When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” said the sheriff. “And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”…. While speaking, the sheriff said that himself it included, “it’s not unusual for all public officials to get threats.” However, he said the sentiment doesn’t come without consequences…. “And that’s the sad thing of what’s going on in America,” he explained. “Pretty soon, we’re not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office.”
A lot of Americans have had a lot to say about the massacre in Tucson. Lost in the sometimes self-serving avalanche of words is what I think is the reality behind what made this tragedy event possible. Yes, there’s the whole “mentally ill gunman” aspect, and even the rabid and arguably dangerous gun culture extant in America today. Beyond that, thought, is the reality that we live in an increasingly poisonous atmosphere where people can be, and too often are, vilified and held to be worthy of destruction simply because of their beliefs. There are people seriously blaming Liberals and arguing that the Left is using the massacre for their political benefit. Such trash is barely worth dignifying, and it’s certainly another argument for another time.
No, my purpose this time around is to celebrate the words of the one person who seems to understand what happened in a way that escapes most pundits, especially those on the Far Right. I know nothing of Sheriff Dupnik’s politics, because they aren’t important here. What is important is his recognition of what’s happening in Arizona and in America…and being willing to give voice to it. For his moment of honesty, Dupnik is being pilloried, most notably on Fox News Channel. Other voices on the Far Right continue to pile on, no doubt hoping to confuse the issue and deflect attention from their continued efforts to poison our public discourse. I have no doubt that there are those on the Left willing to turn this event to their benefit…but the voices on the Far Right seem to be working overtime to cloud the issue and deflect attention from the hate speech that is their raison d’etre.
Only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation.
- Barack Obama
Clarence Dupnik has the distinction of being the first, and so far, only voice willing to stand up and speak to the real problem in this country. Arizona may be a more extreme microcosm of what is a very American problem, but it’s time that every American woke up and recognized that hate speech and the politics of destruction are the biggest threat this country faces. Yes, terrorism of the radical Islamofascist variety is a grave and real threat, but the continued degradation of our public discourse represents the gradual decay and dissolution of America from within.
If we lose the willingness to recognize that we’re all in this together, that ideas are not the enemy, how much longer will it be before people are regularly killed for their beliefs? How long will it be before America is governed by the ruthless and corrupt, those willing to destroy those they see as standing in the way of their righteous cause? How long will it be before “Liberty” becomes just another code word for destroying those you disagree with?
Regardless of Dupnik’s political leanings, his words struck exactly the right chord…and one that many on the Far Right feel threatened by. The atmosphere in Arizona in particular and America in general HAS been poisoned…and while all of us carry some responsibility for this, those on the Far Right who peddle hatred and anger should not go unrecognized. We have a problem in this country…and that problem is a collective lack of civility and willingness. To argue that both sides of the spectrum are equally liable is as laughable as it is wrong. In order to solve a problem, we must first be honest about the origins of said problem. In this case, the reality is that there are far too many voices on the Far Right willing to traffic in hatred and anger. When your primary concern is the generation of ratings, you recognize that reasoned, rational discourse may be all well and good, but it doesn’t draw numbers. People gravitate toward emotion and anger; and in a hyper-competitive media environment, there are those willing to take anything to an extreme if it keeps their advertising rates up.
Until and unless we can collectively recognize the sad, abject truth behind Sheriff Dupnik’s words, we have little hope of moving forward. What 19 terrorists were unable to accomplish on 9.11 is what we may well be in the process of doing to ourselves- destroying this country from the inside out. We have the power and ability to reverse course, to work to find common ground, to recognize that we’re better together than we are apart. We can move forward despite our differences, our we can seek to destroy one another because of those differences. The road we choose will go a long way toward determining what America will look like, and perhaps even if our Republic will survive. That may sound like hyperbole, but if you take a moment to listen and look around, I think you’ll see, as I do, that there are some very important things missing from our public discourse these days:
Patience.
Compassion.
Thoughtfulness.
Tolerance.
Forbearance.
Forgiveness.
Understanding.
Peacefulness.
Respect.
Love.
An appreciation of diversity.
A willingness to listen.
A willngness to consider rather than react.
Think what you will of Sheriff Dupnik, but his words are clear and unimpeachable. We HAVE given in to anger and vitriol. We HAVE allowed our prejudice and bigotry to rule how we interact with those we disagree with. The good news is that we have it within ourselves to change that. We CAN respect one another, even if we happen to disagree. We CAN recognize the goodness and decency in people who happen to hold different views. Best of all, we CAN recognize and reject those voices who seek to divide us and pit Americans one against the other.
Si, se puede…yes, we CAN do this, and it starts with each of us making the decision to step back from the abyss. This is the promise I’ve made to myself, to be a passionate and committed American (first) who just happens to be a Liberal (a distant second). Anyone care to join me??
