The Deeper Meaning of the Blame Game

The Tree of Life massacre was the act of a person filled with hate.   He alone is responsible for his horrendous acts.  Similarly, the person who sent the bomb threats did so due to whatever was going on in his own twisted mind. 

No one representing the Left or the Right condones these horrific acts.  But some choose to turn their focus from the acts and the individual perpetrators; rather than mourn the dead and injured, they look for ways to turn tragedy into political gain, often by placing responsibility not on the perpetrator, but on their own political enemies.

To attempt to blame someone else (as the Left is blaming Trump) is to deny that people have control over their own behavior – that they have individual responsibility.  Yet, that is exactly what much of the Democrat policies do – take away both the rights and responsibilities of the individual, implying that the individual is dependent on some Other for his or her behavior.  So, no wonder they immediately find someone else (in this case their nemesis Trump) to blame rather than the actual individual who conceived and carried out these heinous acts.

There is harsh political rhetoric on both sides.  This is not new; it has existed as long as our Country, though the actual language used may change with the times (and in our current times harsh, obscene, offensive language abounds in every venue, not just politics; such language has been with us long before the 2016 election cycle).  Similarly, an irrational hatred by some against Jews is nothing new.   Today, in our media glutted world, we are all bombarded with words of all sorts.  We all grasp onto some of these words to encourage and support our own behavior.  But the words are there for everyone; it is the individual who choses what to listen to and how to incorporate that into his or her own behavior.  That is, we each are responsible for our own acts; to think otherwise is to deny the individual.

The acts of violence should be condemned, and the individuals perpetrating them should be condemned.  Not just those that make the news, but the lesser acts of political violence that occur daily.  When someone seizes the hat of someone and destroys it just because it endorsed a political rival, the acts of that person should be condemned, not cheered or excused.  Yet, sadly, we hear Democrat leaders condoning, encouraging, and excusing acts of harassment and violence against Republicans.  This is very different from the heated political rhetoric that will always be part of a democracy in which opposing political parties are able to seek election.

I am saddened that rather than mourn the dead and condemn the killer, Democrats have chosen to weaponize the Tree of Life massacre as just another piece of their arsenal against the President and his supporters.  Yet, what else might we expect from those who deny the power of the individual and believe that the state has the power to control all.