Ballistic Politics
The Arizona political shootings offer an opportunity for the Administration to either defend free speech ( including that which it bitterly opposes) or criminalize it using this event as a pretext.
Any president would be sorely tempted to brand his foes enemies of the state and history tells at least several did.
I’m being intentionally vague because enough gasoline is hitting this particular fire without by brand of high octane propellant. Folks with impulse control problems on all sides of the issue don’t need more provocation to go postal.
Conservatives wonder when the speech codes will be unveiled? Conspiracy theorists on that side expect government surveillance and dirty tricks to exceed Nixon in the wake of this attempted assassination of a sitting Congress woman and murder of a Chief federal District judge among others.
As a security person and political observer I think we need to recognize the pressure cooker of the last few years is causing some to reach their boiling point. That doesn’t mean that prevailing conditions; talking heads or policy makers can automatically be blamed when these eruptions occur, but they are mitigating factors. Study and preemptive action may head off some of these tragedies.
Ballistic politics are occasions when we need to look closely at just how much we believe free speech is worth. In some instances the price can be life itself.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes crime prevention and self-development. http://www.captblack.info
Eddie
Hey there Captain Planet,
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the shootings you’re speaking of were not politically motivated AT ALL. The “pressure cooker” didn’t cause this. Loughner has a history of insane acts and had been obsessed with the congresswoman since 2007 when, while at a speaking event, she couldn’t answer the question “How can government mean anything when words have no meaning?” He was a lunatic who was in no way affiliated with ANY political movement or philosophy, not one from this planet anyway.
Sane people engage in passionate political debate because they’re standing up for what they feel is right, and psychopaths go on shooting sprees because the sky is blue. If you and your friends are gonna save the world from super villains you gotta be able to tell the difference first.