Reflecting on a trait that I admired in one of the Tucson victims with whom I was slightly acquainted, I keep reminding myself to work at trying to be respectful of everyone, all the time, no exceptions. That includes the people I agree with, people I disagree with, Christians, Muslims, atheists, good drivers, slow drivers, distracted drivers, sane people, and people who may be on the edge.
It's the nature of politicians to point out the absurdity in their opponent's position. There's no disrespect in that. Comedians and entertainers point out absurdities all the time; they have a lot of material to work with in the political discourse. The real disrespect starts when evil motivations are ascribed to an opposing position. That angle of attack could be seen merely as a humorous way of making a point, as long as everyone is laughing. But I don't think that is always the case. The rhetoric easily deteriorates into
our side against the evil other side,with the other side undeserving of respect.
It's understandable that some prominent people have taken umbrage at the remarks by our Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik. If those people were to drop their
me against evilshtick, they wouldn't have anything left. I hope most people will agree with the words of the President last night.
