What We Can Learn from Jared Lee Loughner

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, has been charged with the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords. Along with her shooting, he is also charged in a number of deaths, and attempted murders. Among the dead, one particular victim breaks the hearts of us all. Yahoo! News lists her name as Christina Taylor Green, 9. These deaths and injuries are needless and tragic. No political party accepts the responsibility for the actions of Jared Lee Loughner, nor should they. We're all in mourning right now.

We Americans have seen bigger tragedies than this before. As we so often do while trying to make sense of it all, and while the police sift through the evidence to make a solid case on Jared Lee Loughner, we can learn from this. I'd like the opportunity to share some of the things I believe we can learn from this terrible event.

What we can learn from Jared Lee Loughner: Violence is not the first answer to political differences. In addition to the "power of the vote," here in the United States of America, we have a process in place which allows for citizens and professional politicians alike to effect change wherever and whenever it is needed. Along with the often-quoted second amendment, we have the first amendment guaranteeing us the right to petition our own government, along with freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to peaceably assemble. Notice that the second amendment comes after the first, for a reason. Violence, in and of itself, was intended as a last resort, and only in the face of oppressive tyranny. Seeing as how we are clearly not at the immediate point of facing an oppressive tyranny, then such violence is not justifiable. Jared Lee Loughner is nothing more than one misguided individual, and not an agent of any political party.

Anyone who may be harboring fantasies and/or delusions of using violence, while these other points of the political process yet remain, are misguided and only hoping to do harm - and those people are not representative of the clear majority of peace loving Americans. We should perhaps try the peaceful route before we lose all of our options.

What we can learn from Jared Lee Loughner: The blame game won't do us any good either. Rather than letting this situation further divide us against one another, in the name of these imaginary political lines, let's use this terrible event to remember to come back together as fellow Americans, and not just the useful idiots of politicians. Instead of pointing only a finger at our neighbors, let's extend the whole hand to each other. Let's not try placing responsibility for Jared Lee Loughner at each other's doorstep, or we might just find it laying at our own door, as well. I've been guilty of this too, and I am ashamed of myself, for being so dishonorable.

What we can learn from Jared Lee Loughner: We need to think for ourselves, and live our lives, for our own reasons. Let's all stop buying in to what the talking heads are telling us. That goes for both parties. Sometimes, we just need to turn off our televisions and radios. We need to get off of our computers and our mobile phones. Put away those ridiculous video games, even if for just a few days. There is a world out there, full of living, breathing, fellow human beings.

There is a reality far more beautiful and worthwhile than what the electronic voices describe. There are a lot more people who care than don't. There is infinitely more good than bad. We have neighbors to meet. Remember our neighbors? In spite of the paranoia pushed upon us by those who only want to get paid on advertising, they're not all out to eat our children.

If doing so impacts the profit margin of CNN, Fox News, AOL, and every newspaper in the country negatively, then so be it. All of this technology we surround ourselves with can be used by us, instead of controlling us. If we were to remember to be human beings again, not only would we learn something from Jared Lee Loughner, we just may come to remember a few other things about ourselves, too.

Sources:
Opinion, and
Yahoo! News "Authorities Charge Man, 22, with Assassination Try" January 9th, 2011