Separating Politics from Tragedy

As I was reading through coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, I was initially struck by the outpouring of sympathy for those affected, which replaced the usual politicizing and finger-pointing that nowadays occurs only minutes after such tragedies. I thought that perhaps after the anti-gun uproar that immediately followed the Sandy Hook shootings, public officials and media members would put the political commentary on hold and focus on reaching out to the victims and their families. Before I had time to knock on wood, those tiresome political agendas began popping up again and the smear campaigns were launched.

CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen blamed right-wingers for the attack.

“If it was more conventional explosives, which are much harder to get a hold of now, that might be some other kind of right-wing extremists ,” Bergen said. “We’ve seen a number of failed bombing attempts by Al Qaeda using bombs … We’ve also seen other extremist groups attacking, right-wing groups, for instance trying to attack the Martin Luther King parade in Oregon in 2010.”

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof pointed the accusatory finger at Senate Republicans.

“[E]xplosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment,” Kristof  tweeted on Monday (though he later apologized).

Former Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank used the tragedy as an opportunity to attack fiscal conservatism and promote government spending.

“You know, it’s very fashionable these days for people in my former line of work to brag about how they cut government, reduce government,” Frank said in an interview with MSNBC. “Well, I’m glad that they weren’t as successful as they wanted to be. This is an enormously expensive undertaking.”

Whenever something bad happens in this country, politicians and mainstream journalists respond by turning it into an ideological slugfest. This does nothing to solve the problem but only succeeds in deflecting responsibility and dividing American citizens. Columbine should have taught us that. Aurora should have taught us that. Sandy Hook should have taught us that.  Yet the same old baseless wars continue to be waged and nothing good comes from them.

When will we learn that politicizing tragedy will only add to the suffering? At this point, I’m inclined to say never. But I hope someone can prove me wrong.