Our country has been in turmoil for many years now with these senseless acts of random violence. Domestic terrorism? I'm not getting into that argument - that's for another day. I see this more as a strike for attention by a sociopath. I am not an expert by any means...this is just my opinion of the actions that happened in Tucson on January 8.
Sociopaths are the way they are because, from birth onward, the brain of a sociopath stores learning information in a random, chaotic way instead of in the usual designated places in the cerebral cortex. Part of this involves lack of crucial neurotransmitters, but as of yet no one knows whether this lack is caused BY the brain abnormality or is the cause of it. It's probably the former. There are an estimated three hundred million sociopaths on Earth. Because they cannot feel, or grow attachments, they turn to abusing those they envy, and often to crime. It is certainly vengeance: "If I can't have any of this, why should you?" This is the real reason sociopaths lash out at strong and kind people. No matter what they say, they know that inside, they are always empty and damaged beyond repair.
Do we have more sociopaths now than we did in the past? No, we just have more media to publicize their heinous acts.
They're doing this because of members of the Westboro Baptist Church announced that they will picket the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old who was among the six people killed. The controversial church, based in Topeka, has made its name by staging protests at funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people, soldiers and even Coretta Scott King. "Westboro Baptist Church spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps, provided CNN with a statement detailing their decision to picket the funerals. It is filled with anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-divorce rhetoric that members have used in the past to justify their pickets -- that God hates America because it has turned its back on what they see as God's way."
When I read this kind of hate-filled rhetoric, I have to stop and remind myself that this country was founded on the premise of religious freedom and that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have just as much right in their beliefs as anyone else does. I served in our Army to help protect that right. But when does it stop being religious freedom and the right to protest and become domestic terrorism? No, members of the church have not killed anyone. But harmed? They have picketed at funerals of our servicemen and women. People who gave their lives for these jerks to be able to protest. That's a little ironic in itself. But the family members of the deceased are grieving terribly already. What gives these hate mongers the right to make their pain even worse? Have we gone too far to protect the rights of the extremists? That's not a question I can answer. And it makes me wonder about the state of our nation.
But then, I read about the efforts of people like Christin Gilmer and Chelsea Cohen and I realize that for every extremist out there trying to hurt people, there are hundreds of others that are peace loving and will go out of their way to help their neighbors for no other reason than they want to.
Meeting the hate filled protest of the Westboro Baptist Church with silence, love and angel wings is what our country is really about. Taking care of each other. No matter the faith and beliefs, we CAN live together as long as we don't rise to the same level.
Amongst all the hate and violence, I am still proud to be an American.
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