God help us

I was depressed this morning. Sometimes it seems that everyone has gone mad. I saw a clip of Glenn Beck barking at a video of the President talking about the stimulus, saying it was time “we took back the country”. (Never mind that the report on the stimulus is that it has worked, not perfectly, but the 2 million people working because of it probably think it is working ok. Even the Wall Street Journal reported its achievement.) I watched a Teabagger in Washington state say that she wanted to hang a senator – the message to rise up and take back the country. Yesterday I read the comment of former representative Tom Tancredo saying we should have literacy tests before people could vote and “This is our country. Let’s take it back.” These were the things on my mind when I heard that a plane crashed into a building in Austin. My first thought was of the OKC Bombing and my second was “please let it be an accident”. As the reports come out, still many unconfirmed by authorities, it appears this was an act of domestic terrorism. Amazingly, it appears the pilot is the only fatality.

How much did the shrill, hateful and hyperbolic ranting mood that seems to engulf our media, if not really the country, contribute to his deciding to do this? Is any, one, yelling talking head culpable? Can we call out Beck? Can we call out Roger Ailes for his disregard for facts in favor of tabloid journalism and overblown commentary? What about Palin and her ilk running for future office by playing to the angry mob? What about Rick Perry and his flirting comment about secession?

Or do we have to look no further than ourselves. All of us too busy to pay attention. All of us unwilling to truly participate in our own government. All of us as a whole who wish to pay no price for all the services that we want and then look away in disgust as the politicians tell us exactly what we want to hear. Do we have to look no further than our infantile culture.