The U.S. is a diverse nation with many subcultures. What do we know about cultural values in the Arizona in which Jared Loughner grew up?
Among the major values shaping the social climate in Arizona (the exosystem) are rugged individualism, conservative Christianity, anti-immigration policies and rhetoric, greater concern with the the First Amendment right to freedom of speech than the rights to freedom of religion and assembly, and aggressive support for the right to bear arms (as long as the bearer of the arms is white).
Where have those values led in recent years? Arizona is the state where local talk radio host “Jon Justice” called for “bloodshed in the polling places.”
Since Loughner’s rampage in Tucson, Arizona is also the state acknowledged by Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik to have become “the mecca for prejudice and bigotry,” a place where local TV and radio hosts should do some “soul-searching.”
As Roberto Lovato wrote for the Huffington Post (January 13, 2011), “To many of us, the ‘deranged lone gunmen’ on the desert fringe can sometimes bear more than a passing resemblance to the God-fearing, gun-wielding patriot filling our cities and suburbs; we see how the ‘rugged individualism’ of a previous era is being hijacked by powerful interests.”
Arizona is also the state that produced Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in many ways a model of personal agency in service of moral engagement. She has described problems (e.g., regarding education, health care, and the dangers of hate rhetoric) realistically; she has invoked moral principles consistent with the ethic of reciprocity in arguing for equal rights for gay people in the military; and she has been a humanizer rather than a dehumanizer of the downtrodden.
We dedicate today’s blog to Gabby. We pray for her successful recovery from violence–recovery not just from one disturbed youth, but from a hatred-filled minority that targeted her as a representative of a “demonized” government and as a spokesperson for values anathema to right-wing extremists.
Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology