After nearly a decade of life in the post 9/11 world, problematic, hard-fought wars on two fronts, an economic meltdown of 1930′s proportions and a divisive political climate that has brought us to the precipice of constitutional legitimacy, is this really where we find ourselves as a society? Sadly, yes.

Before the blood of the tragedy's 20 victims had even dried, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik began an irresponsible and insensitive campaign of speculation as he leveled baseless charges towards those on the right side of the political spectrum. After declaring Arizona a "mecca for racism and bigotry", Dupnik later went on to suggest that talk radio may have been one of the factors influencing Jared Loughner's actions that day:

The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment, he's irresponsible; uses partial information, sometimes wrong information. Attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior, in my opinion, is without consequence and I think he's irresponsible

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann picked up the banner and led the charge against "politicians and commentators who have so irresponsibly brought us to this time of domestic terrorism". Olbermann singled out conservative figures such as Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sharon Angle and the Tea Party as a whole, demanding justice and if their minds cannot be changed:  "to make sure by peaceful means that those politicians and commentators and supporters have no further place in our system of government".

The New York Times chimed in with:

it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge.

Despite an abundance of tangible evidence that shows Loughner to be completely delusional, with a long history of mental instability, many have sought to paint a disingenuous picture of hateful right wing propaganda influencing the deranged mind of this individual.

For what it's worth, Loughner's MySpace page listed The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kamph amongst his favorite books and a favorite video of a masked man burning the American flag. A high school classmate describes him as "left wing, quite liberal.. a pot head and into rock like Hendrix, the Doors, Anti-flag". Not your typical Rush Limbaugh listener or Sarah Palin supporter to be sure.

Manipulating this tragedy for personal gain or political motivations is both short sighted and reckless. Just days after the shooting, congressional leaders have floated a variety of ridiculous trial balloons as noted in The Daily Caller:

1. Encase the entire House and Senate floor with Plexiglass so the tourists can't throw things at members of Congress

2. Impose a federal ban on carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of any "high-profile" public official

3. Make it illegal to draw pictures of elected officials within crosshairs or say things that might be considered `threatening' to lawmakers

4. Use the Federal Communication Commission's power to finally get that dastardly Rush Limbaugh off the air (or at least get him to stop being so mean)

5. Since the alleged Tucson gunman liked to smoke pot, the federal government should impose tougher drug laws

These and a host of other rash actions that will surely be proposed will only serve to limit our already diminished personal freedoms and liberties. The Fairness Doctrine did nothing to protect Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan, Lennon and numerous other public officials over the years and threats to censor free speech or attempts to disparage the character of Sarah Palin and others will only serve to drive the wedge further into the growing chasm that already divides America.

The Arizona shooter is not the product of the Tea Party's "hateful rhetoric" nor was he subliminally motivated by the silver tongues of conservative talk radio. The reality is that if he is to be labled as anything, Jared Loughner is a delusional sociopath that went on a killing rampage and there's little, if anything, that people can do to protect themselves from the actions of those residing in the lunatic fringe of our society.

In this particular case, arguments can be made for the long history of concerned voices raising calls of alarm but we will always have unstable and unpredictable people amongst us.  Rush Limbaugh did not shoot 20 people at an Arizona Safeway. Sarah Palin did not loan Jared her infamous moose killing 30/30.  We do not need to ban references to "targeting opponents" or fighting "political battles" from our campaign speech.

Given the current state of our political climate, I see little "hope for change" given the sanctimonious and unforgiving certainty that exists on both sides of the political fence.  After all, I know I'm right, don't you?

A short addendum: I thought it was important to note that this piece was written before the Tuscon memorial last night.  While the President delivered a heartfelt message and should be commended for his efforts, it's unfortunate that this call for civility was made after several days of nearly constant, baseless attacks against so many on the right.  In many ways, the damage had already been done and anyone revisiting the issue from this point on will immediately be cast in the negative light of confrontation.