The latest twist to the Arizona tragedy has me now asking, “Has everyone gone crazy?” First it was Jared Loughner and his vicious attack on innocent people. The media and others went crazy and immediately turned it into a political circus.

We had some on the left making accusations and placing blame. We had those on the right defending and emphasizing who actually pulled the trigger.

Now we have one of the victims of the Arizona shooting apparently arrested for making threats at a town hall meeting. He has since been taken in for psychiatric assessment. James Eric Fuller was not very happy with one of the leaders in the Tea Party who made the comment that any further talk on gun control should wait until the victims of the Arizona tragedy were buried. Fuller apparently yelled at him, “You’re dead!”

However this is more than someone suffering possibly from post-traumatic stress disorder or any type of emotional distress after enduring what he did. He has also said that Sarah Palin and other Republican leaders contributed to what happened.

Could he just be repeating what he has already heard? Does he really believe this? Is he a threat now? Has everyone gone crazy?

The media seems to be fueling all of this hatred and despite President Obama’s wishes at the Arizona memorial that the personal attacks stop, they continue. The more we fuel this ugly discourse the bigger it is going to grow and the more likely we are to see other violent acts.

We may need to see more protection at events like town hall meetings. In fact, a recent poll found that it was pretty even between Republicans and Democrats, as far as their wish to see more police presence at political gatherings. While this may require additional spending it may be worth the extra cost to protect lives.

Things are ramping up and while the question is still on my mind as to whether or not everyone has gone crazy…there is hope on the horizon. The State of the Union address is supposed to include lawmakers from different parties sitting together. Whether or not this will happen and who partakes is up in the air.

But I do think it would speak volumes to America. I think it would set a good example and show that despite being on the opposite side politically we can still get along with one another.
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