Originally Posted by JoanneS

I can always count on you for a laugh when I need it, and I really need something to laugh at today ~ and yesterday ~ and every day since Saturday. It's hard to be in Tucson right now ~ George Morris is a friend; he's in critical condition, and he lost his wife on Saturday.

I know the whole country is praying for Congresswoman Giffords and the others who were hurt or killed on Saturday. I think we also need to pray for our country, because I think we've been slipping further and further apart for too long.

I'm not naive. I know there are major differences in political beliefs among the citizens of our greaat country. But I think we can have those differences WITHOUT mean speech or personal verbal attacks aimed at each other. In the past, we found ways to compromise ~ whereas in the last decade it seems to be 'My way or the highway.'

The person who did the shooting here in Tucson may or may not have been influenced by mean political speech, but his actions have certainly focused the entire country's attention on it. It is time for ALL of us to give serious thought to whether that kind of public speaking is akin to shouting 'Fire' in a theater, as the famous Supreme Court case cited in a decision regarding 'free speech.'

Maybe it's time for us to stop listening to the extremists and try to find a way to get along with each other.