Tucson

Two days ago, a crazed gunman opened fire on a crowd in front of a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed and fourteen others were wounded. The apparent target, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head but survived and is currently in critical condition.

The gunman apparently isn't talking to police, so we can only speculate as to why he did what he did. Frankly, I think the question of motive is beside the point. The press, along with other commentators and observers, want to frame the tragedy mainly within the frame of the nation's current political landscape and its implications. But the guy was violently insane, so politics can't possibly tell the whole story. This is a time of mourning, respect, and reflection, not a time to give credence to the twisted mindset of a mass-murderer.

But even if we shouldn't be devoting too much attention to the gunman, the tragedy does give the American people an opportunity to examine several important concerns. Like how a state's lax gun laws can allow a mentally-disturbed person to buy a gun without a permit or a background check. Or whether it's healthy for journalists and commentators to say that all people from the opposite side of the political spectrum are traitors comparable to Communists and Nazis. Or whether it's a good idea for wide-reaching cable news outlets to espouse fringe conspiracy theories about government takeovers and present them as fact on a daily basis. Or whether there can be consequences to using crosshairs to mark congressional districts on a map or using rhetoric like "Second Amendment remedies" or "Don't retreat, RELOAD."

It's easy to say "Politics are to blame! So-and-so is responsible!" and leave it at that. But we need to go beyond that and do what we should be doing all along. We need to look at ourselves, our public officials, and our sources of news and information. We need to look at how we take in the information that we're given and, most importantly, how we treat each other.

These are complex, reflexive, society-examining issues, and hopefully these are the issues that we will discuss and debate for some time to come.

But first and foremost, right now is a time for prayer and respect for the victims and their families.