A Country Divided, Yet Unified

*Written by Rob Rimes.

It’s been a hard week to filter through all the news regarding the election, as the mainstream media’s attention has been diverted elsewhere. You see, America was hit with tragedy thanks to some sick psycho fucker who took it upon himself to burst into a movie theater during the midnight premier of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ – where he opened fire in an evil effort to shoot as many people as possible. A dozen innocent moviegoers were killed while 70 plus were injured during what was the biggest mass murder in United States history. No one knows why the killer did it but the media, as always, was quick to jump on the blame game bandwagon – just like they did with the Giffords shooting and pretty much every other violent action committed by a twisted psycho with a pointless sick agenda.

ABC News’ Brian Ross failed miserably in an attempt to connect the killer to the Tea Party. Shortly afterwards, he came out and admitted that he was mistaken but did not apologize for his asshole gamble, which not only attacked the Tea Party but also pinpointed a Tea Party member who just so happened to share a name with the psycho. Many other people in the media tried to shift blame in one direction or the other but what all these fucking primetime idiots fail to understand, is that the blame falls solely on the shoulders of the scumbag that committed the acts. The kid obviously had his fair share of screws loose and, as far as we know, acted alone. The fact that the media and many Americans are so quick to ask who is at fault, just goes to show how out of touch they are with reality and the fact that people are responsible for their own actions and their own decisions in life. As a country, we’ve become way too dependent on the information our media barons spoon-feed us daily. C’mon, we’re better than that people!

I do have to give props where props are due and I am glad that neither the Obama Administration nor the Romney campaign has come out and used this for political gain. Despite the dumb shit coming out of both men’s mouths lately, it is refreshing to see them rising above the madness and thus, showing respect for the families of the victims in this horrendous tragedy. Democratic leader Barack Obama even went as far as to say that the United States didn’t need new gun laws in the wake of this tragedy, which was then parroted by one of the Republicans’ leaders, Speaker of the House John Boehner. I’ve got to give respect to Barry O for saying that, without hesitation, even though he must have known that his words would piss off many within his party.

As a very vocal commentator in the political realm, I spend a great amount of my time bitching about all the bullshit that pisses me off but truthfully, it would be completely irresponsible of me to not point out the positives of those I often times bash quite vehemently. The Aurora shooting is a giant black eye on American history and even though this nation has become vastly divided politically, especially over the last few years, it is good to know that we can come together when it really matters and move forward. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned in all this. Maybe, despite our differences, we can look passed our own opinions in the face of mass tragedy – when the universe reminds us that we are fragile and that we all are all in this together – and arrive at a place where we can persevere and get passed dark days like these.

Fuck Jeff Daniels and Aaron Sorkin for trying to paint a picture that America isn’t the greatest nation on Earth – it is! Our greatness can’t be quantified by various figures, number and graphs. Our greatness is a greatness of spirit and I don’t mean that in a religious sense. What I mean is that this country has been built on a belief system that the world hadn’t experienced before our inception and that belief system quickly built the world’s most prosperous nation within a century. Sure, times have been bad and things seem to be shifting but America, whether you choose to accept this or not, is a very different country than the rest of them and it always will be. We are unique, even in when perceived weak – we are strong. We led the rest of the world into the modern age and I can most assuredly say that we will continue to lead the world into the future. Even if the United States government, as we know it, were to collapse tomorrow, the American people would still be standing.

American Exceptionalism isn’t a thing of the past. Sometimes we just need a reminder. It’s just unfortunate that it often times takes a great tragedy to re-light our beacon at the top of the hill.