Don't let politics kill idealism
Christina Taylor Green, one of six people killed in the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson. Credit: MCT
Our children are watching how we conduct the public's business. That's one lesson from Christina Taylor Green's presence at the political event in Tucson Saturday where her young life was cut short. We should set a better example.
If we take only one thing from President Barack Obama's remarks Wednesday at a memorial service for the six killed and 13 wounded by a gun-wielding madman, it should be that it's time to cool it.
Unless we tamp down the vitriol, reject the nastiness and end the vilification that is poisoning the nation's political life, we risk snuffing out the idealism that fuels our democracy.
Christina "was just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future," Obama said. "She had been elected to her student council. She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model."
We're fortunate there are still children who see honor in politics and nobility in public service. In a world filled with easy distractions, we're lucky there are kids who are even paying attention. The nation would be better served if we could all see our government with a child's eye, free of the cynicism, partisanship, ideology and opportunism that so often distorts our grown-up views.
Our political differences are real. Being civil doesn't mean ignoring that reality. Americans have debated the proper role and size of government since the nation was founded. Conflicting ideas are the raw material of democracy.
But lately too many people have cast those who see things differently on issues such as health care and taxation and immigration as enemies of the state. They aren't. They're the loyal opposition. And compromise isn't surrender. It's how we move the nation forward.
It isn't clear why a man police say was Jared Loughner opened fire on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), grievously wounding her, killing a federal judge and so many others. Liberals blaming conservatives for inciting Loughner, and conservatives lashing back at liberals for political opportunism, is just the sort of finger-pointing we should avoid.
Unless we find our way to a more civil and honest discourse, it will be difficult to solve the nation's problems or to engage future generations in the effort.
Idealism and enthusiasm like Christina's shouldn't be crushed. It should be nurtured. hN
