Blaming "incendiary language" is a tool of ideologues

Fr. Frank Pavone www.priestsforlife.org

After Saturday's tragic shooting in Tucson, some have pointed the finger at inflammatory political rhetoric.

Many singled out Sarah Palin's now-infamous "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" tweet and her 'Crosshairs' campaign map, which included Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' district, as a sign that some politicians have gone too far in stoking vitriol against their political opponents. (Since the shooting, Palin reportedly emphasized in an email that she "hates violence.") Others reject any connection between the shooter, who does not appear to espouse any coherent ideology, and our current political climate.

What are the ethical and moral implications of incendiary political language?

One of the ethical and moral obligations that is uppermost in my mind regarding this debate about "incendiary political language" is the obligation to preserve freedom of speech and the further obligation to accept personal responsibility rather than blame one's actions on what someone else said or did.

I know from personal experience what it's like to be the target of such blame. My highly visible work in the fight against abortion has earned me the wrath of abortion advocates across the nation. Though the work of my ministry is completely non-violent, and though I have even gone so far as to offer and ultimately bestow a reward for information leading to the conviction of those who do violence against abortion providers, I have nevertheless been the subject of accusations and public protests because I am, allegedly, an inciter of violence.

My public declarations against violence have forced my detractors to admit that yes, Fr. Frank "says" he opposed violence. But because I also say that abortion is an act of killing, I am told that I share the blame for those unstable individuals who have shot abortion doctors. In fact, in 2001, a member of the New York State legislature organized a protest against me in New York City, calling together the leaders of NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Catholics for Choice, and other groups, blaming me for violence because of what I say about abortion.

So imagine my surprise when, pretty immediately after the Tucson tragedy, people started blaming it on "incendiary political language." This is a favorite tool of some ideologues in our society.

Actually, it has been for a long time. Martin Luther King, Jr. had to defend himself against such attacks in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. He wrote to the clergy who criticized his peaceful activism:

"In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God -consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? We must come to see that, as the Federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber."

The bottom line is this. Like it or not, we are each responsible for our own actions. Furthermore, we are in fact influenced by one another, but unless you want to live in a hole in the mountains, you have to accept that fact while avoiding the temptation to abandon that personal responsibility. And to attempt to "keep the peace" by chilling, or somehow prohibiting, freedom of speech, is simply another form of violence against the human spirit. By Fr. Frank Pavone | January 12, 2011; 8:12 AM ET Save & Share:
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