The Chris Moeller Archives

A vote for humanity

The shooting rampage by Jared Loughner in Arizona that has left six dead and 14 more wounded is many things: a senseless, terrifying tragedy, a call for sober reflection, another failure of an irreparably-broken health care system, a violent assault by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution upon the First. As usual, the "Republican vs. Democrat" public debate drowns out any meaningful dialogue, but both parties stand guilty of lighting the fuse. Republican Party political rhetoric has indeed often been frighteningly unhinged and inflammatory. A Democratic White House not only endorses public assassinations, it orders them. Both groups have played their part in what the shooting deaths should represent to us above all: another spasm of hateful and reprehensible violence in a nation that has made dehumanization one of its global missions. This dehumanization is rearing its ugly head whether it's through physical violence, hate-filled speech, or just social neglect and indifference.

That's why perhaps the warmest story of the week is one out of Illinois. The House and Senate chambers there have both approved a legislative measure in the past week that would abolish the death penalty in the country's 5th most-populous state. This brave step taken by these lawmakers, in the wake of this remarkable act of violence that has resonated nationwide, acts not to limit unpopular speech or individual freedoms of expression, but to affirm our collective humanity, and that will be our only long-term political salvation in the face of attacks to our collective health and ideals.

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The Iowa State University men's basketball team will unveil a statue of former head coach Johnny Orr tonight at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. I've severed my once-deep connection with my alma mater's b-ball squad since they fired one of their most successful coaches, Larry Eustachy, in 2003 for being an alcoholic, but whooo-ee, man, it was a hell of a lot of fun back in those Johnny days of the 1980s and early '90s, what with the Stevenses, Grayers, Hornaceks, Alexanders, Hoibergs, and Michaliks. Johnny was an amusing guy, and there was no greater electrical jolt to be experienced in the state of Iowa at that time than taking in a Cyclone game at Hilton. A handful of times, the noise level reached such a pitch that it felt like the ground might give way beneath us in the arena. Congratulations, Johnny.

posted by CM @ 12:10 PM