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There are far too many illogical statements and opinions theses days. Decent arguments are just lost in the wave of craziness. Education is one of the only solutions. Science, Philosophy, Logic, and Ethics should be taught in high school to give kids the tools to sort through all the self-serving nonsense ranging from advertising to pundits.

I'll tell you what we learned. We learned that crazy people do crazy shit sometimes. The end. Fade out. Roll credits.

>> ^blankfist:

I'll tell you what we learned. We learned that crazy people do crazy shit sometimes. The end. Fade out. Roll credits.


Right, because it's definitely not an opportunity to stop and reflect on whether the kinds of crazy things we say are too much, because we know the only time we should ever dial it back a notch is when there's incontrovertible proof that rhetoric got someone killed.

I understand censorship is the new progressive movement and all, but Loughner was just crazy and there's zero proof he even saw Palin's crosshairs map. So it's a bit opportunist to associate this tragedy with tea party rhetoric, videogame/cinema violence or whatever other bogeyman that works to further your political agenda.

@blankfist you know, there once was a time when you actually responded to things I actually said, rather than unloading whatever feelings you generically have about the left in my direction.

What I'm saying is that there's never a bad time to start doing the right thing. If you think the right thing to do is to cheer on people who make ever more thinly veiled threats of violence against their political opponents, you really should just make your case for the positive effect you think it has on society rather than just casting aspersions on all calls for civility.

I have no idea if Loughner saw Palin's crosshairs, or heard any other politician, pundit, blogger, or private citizens "violent imagery". I am also very hesitant to write off his actions, which he should be held responsible for whether he was insane or not, as simply being the result of him being "crazy".

That being said, I think that this is a good time to consider that there may be people out there that take what we say to heart, even if they misinterpret what it was that we exactly meant. Bill Clinton's statement, and Olberman's expansion upon it here, are quite valid. I think that there is honor in striving to achieve a higher standard, where the objections that we pose towards those that don't share our opinions are as objective as possible, as well as in being willing to stand and accept responsibility for when we fall short of those higher standards.