RUTHFULLY YOURS

Those who are concerned that the decibels of our political rhetoric are affecting outbursts of violence in America should consider how glorifying the face of a mass murderer in an oversized, color, front page spread in the New York Times will impact other deranged copycat killers. What spells success to an isolated psychopath, more than capturing the attention of the world with 24/7 coverage of every aspect of his life and thoughts? Since Saturday, every television channel has sent its reporters to stand in Tucson and repeat the same miniscule bits of information ad nauseam and ad infinitum. Worse, political figures have seized an opportunity to increase their own visibility by proximity to Gabrielle Giffords in a shameful and exploitative manner. Yesterday morning’s news had Kristin Gillebrand and another blonde congresswoman from Florida describing their touching girlfriend session with the stricken victim – a human interest story aimed at their self-importance more than anything else. Wouldn’t a really good friend pay a quiet visit without broadcasting it to a troupe of cameras and newscasters? Hanging out with Chuck Schumer has apparently infected Ms. Gillebrand with his photophilia-itis

We have an epidemic of non-stop news-chatter that both alarms viewers and de-sensitizes them to the relative significance of events. An impending snowstorm is reported with the intensity of a looming tsunami or earthquake; a tragic mass murder is reduced to treacly interviews with victims whose grief should be respected by distance and privacy. Inducing the parents of Christina Green to talk about their feelings to millions of strangers has no upside for anyone – it only demeans what is truly tragic to the level of a tear-jerking Barbara Walters segment best reserved for celebrities in rehab.

Scratching the bottom of the barrel was another interview this morning with a “girlfriend” of Jared Loughner, a young inarticulate woman who dated him briefly six years ago, had nothing to add except that he was different then, but took up four minutes with monosyllabic responses to ridiculous questions. Interviews with his more recent acquaintances have played over and over in a drone of inconsequential patter. The facts of Jared Loughner’s descent into darkness have been spelled out in his dropping out of high school, his dalliance with drugs, his increasing obsession with paranoid scenarios of government control, his run-ins with school security, his removal from community college and his escalating isolation from friends, family and community. Not every tortured soul becomes a torturer however so we must reserve our judgment until the border between illness and willfulness is better understood.

Watching incessant replays of the rote comments of newscasters or watching pundits trip over themselves making knee-jerk accusations that are unfounded is not conducive to such understanding. The restoration of dignified solemnity is what we need in America.  The one minute of silence that paid tribute to the victims is mocked by all the hours of non-stories that have characterized the media response throughout this week. Instead of Jared Loughner’s lunatic smile, we should have seen the faces of the victims on the front pages of our newspapers.   Instead of the intrusive microphone thrust into the faces of victim’s loved ones, we should have heard our anchor-people quietly refuse to invade the privacy of those who mourn and those who keep vigils for the seriously injured. What we have witnessed this week is the contrast between the most tawdry elements of our media-saturated society with some genuinely courageous acts of valor. We have seen another example of a young man’s spiral into madness elude detection to create national havoc. News reports and television programming have heightened tensions between political adversaries and have cheapened their dialog. Serious questions have been raised: how to deal with the mentally ill; what is the boundary between individual freedom and protective custody; what kinds of weapons should be available for sale; what aspects of people’s histories belong on applications for weapons; what sort of protection should be given to public servants?  None have yet been answered.