A few hours ago, a 22-year-old lone gunman walked into an Arizona Safeway and shot democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, along with 17 others. 7 people have been killed as of this post, including a 9-year-old child, Giffords’ top aid, and a federal judge. As I type this, Rep. Giffords, who had been threatened in the past in connection with the health care debate, is undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the head.

It is still too early to determine the motivation behind this horrible act of violence, but the angry and tainted rhetoric of the past 2 years has done nothing but fueled the fires of senseless hatred that could very well have prompted this latest blood bath. As such, I am not afraid to hold Fox News, the Republican party, and the so-called Tea Party Movement responsible for the vile and extreme direction my country has taken. In my mind, these organizations might have just as well pulled the trigger, since the lies they propagated and the fear they instilled upon the ignorant American have backfired.

I am ashamed of the paranoia, distrust, unfounded desperation, lies, racism, greed, and ignorance shown by many of my fellow Americans. I can only hope that this latest act of senseless violence will be enough to bring the insanity to a screeching halt and allow the democratic process to go forward with the best interest of the people in mind, rather than that of seedy corporations or special interest groups, which hide behind the fabricated “grassroots” movements of the far right, while twisting and distorting the facts to fit their questionable agenda.