A couple of days ago, I sat down to my computer to learn that my congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been mortally wounded in a shooting spree in northwest Tucson minutes earlier. Like most Americans, I spent the next several hours in stunned disbelief trying to make sense of the horrifying details. Why her? At one point early on, it was reported that she had been killed by her assailant. It was almost too much to grasp. Though the details have become much clearer in the subsequent investigative reporting, it remains hard to believe that one of Arizona's most ardent public servants is clinging tenuously to her life, one whose future is full of uncertainty.
Years earlier, I had the pleasure of meeting Gabrielle Giffords at the start of her political career when she came around to visit voters in the neighborhood of Poet's Corner where I was living early on in the new millennium. I was initially prepared to face yet another messenger of God on my doorstep, but found myself standing face to face with Ms. Giffords who extended her hand and introduced herself as a Tucson native and owner of a local tire store, who was running for state office. While I am somewhat of a political junkie, my exposure to Arizona politics had pretty much colored my view of Arizona politicians. I did not generally hold them in very high regard. Yet I was struck immediately by her willingness to hit the streets of Tucson, going door to door to talk with voters. I was also immediately struck by her charisma and clarity of thought. Here was a charismatic politician with some clearly evident intellect. We talked for a few more minutes about the state of Tucson and her vision of how to improve the state. And then, after asking for my vote, she was off. I wasn't yet sure of her platform, but I could already tell she was level-headed and truly concerned for the welfare of our state. I never forgot that brief contact. I just had this hunch that she was someone to watch because she was going places.
In short, she got my vote in that election, along with the votes of many others. She served in state government until 2005, when she decided to run for U.S. Congress to fill a seat vacated in the eighth district in the House of Representatives. Wow, Gabrielle was going big time. I was proud that Arizona might have some reasoned, sensible representation in Congress, and I was ecstatic when she won her seat in the House. One of her strengths was her capacity to deal with a very politically diverse district while steering completely clear of partisan bickering. I think that she navigated this minefield of viewpoints as well as one could hope. She was one of very few democrats who could hold an elected office in our predominantly conservative state. Her strength was her willingness to listen to and evaluate the disparate viewpoints of her constituents and always make herself accessible to them.
During the run-up to the 2010 elections, tensions were running at a fever pitch in the state, driven by highly partisan politics and a feeling of desperation that the welfare of the state and of the nation was vitally dependent on the outcome of the election. Daily, I would drive past political signs and billboards, many with strongly vitriolic anti-Gifford sentiments. The worst were those put up by independent groups not directly affiliated with her Tea Party challenger Jesse Kelly. And on the roads I would see large pick-ups with Kelly stickers aggressively speeding through the streets of Tucson, weaving in and out of traffic with a brazen sense of entitlement. These drivers gave off a sense of outrage and discontent. It was during this time that her office in Tucson was vandalized.
As I watched the 2010 election results come in through the night, I sat in apprehension as the eighth district results clearly indicated a race too close to call. How could Arizonan's not reelect such a hard-working, centrist candidate? Like most of the nation, Arizona was swept up in the anti-establishment Tea Party phenomenon, and it was looking like the most important thing for most voters was to defeat incumbents. I fretted for a couple of days before it became clear that Gabrielle would hold off her challenger and retain her seat. But my mind did not stop thinking about the significant number of angry Kelly constituents who had pledged to get her out of office at any cost.
Which brings me back to the events of January 8th. While it is now quite clear that her assassin was a troubled young white male with mental illness, there was plenty of reason to worry and speculate for those first few hours after the shooting that some irate citizen had lost it and carried out the unthinkable. Anyone who had lived in Arizona during the past 12 months and witnessed all of the daily vitriol expressed toward Giffords would almost immediately fear the worst case scenario - intense voter hatred reaching a tipping point and leading to her attempted murder. While I understand that the far right is feeling unfairly persecuted by the far left, I cannot understand how anyone can sit back and say that there are no consequences to vitriolic hate-speak, be it proclaimed by liberal or conservative pundits. Inciting hatred cannot lead to positive change. We are, after all, all Americans. We are all trying to do the best for our families, our communities, and ourselves - just trying to make it in today's world. We will certainly often disagree as to the best approach to achieving this, but at the end of the day, we need to always remember that we are, in theory, on the same side. As America grows larger, I fear these simple but lofty goals may never be attainable. But in order to ease closer to such idealistic goals, we have to stop championing the most angry, partisan spokespersons and turn our ears towards those who seek to unite. Gabrielle Giffords typifies this sort of spokesperson and public servant. While she clings to life, we might honor her by reflecting on some of the values for which she stands.
