COMMENTARY: News Media and Self-Interest Groups Must Practice Responsibility

The killing of six people, and the wounding of 13 others, in Tuscon, Arizona on January 8, 2011 by a schizophrenic pot-smoking loner has resulted in a "circus" of sensationalism and opinion by the news media and a plethoric "blame game" by various special-interest groups.

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, allegedly shot and killed six people and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot in the head at a grocery store.

Instead of presenting the news on this situation in an objective and responsible manner, the news media, for the most part, is presenting it with an air of sensationalism and with its own biased opinions. At the same time, various groups are blaming other groups -- and even individuals -- for the Tuscon tragedy.

Both of these occurrences are ridiculous and need to end -- fast. The fact is that one person killed and wounded several people in Tuscon, and that person alone is responsible for this savage action. Investigators have clearly indicated that there was no conspiracy and no one else involved in this tragedy.

The ramifications that have resulted from this unfortunate incident remind us of 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist, shot and killed President John F. Kennedy. The news media presented its opinion for many years after Kennedy's assassination, conveying that it wasn't just Oswald who killed Kennedy, but that a "communist conspiracy" was behind the killing. This opinion proved to be wrong.

As for individuals and special-interest groups blaming others for the horrendous Tuscon shooting, we can go back as far as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to illustrate one's self-satisfaction as a result of blaming someone else for a negative occurrence. Adam told God that it wasn't his fault that he ate the forbidden fruit because Eve persuaded him to do so. Eve told God that it wasn't her fault, because the devil convinced her to eat it.

So "the blame game" can be traced all the way back to Adam and Eve. But it needs to be put to rest, and the sooner the better for America.

Americans, then, need to take responsibility for their actions and beliefs, and not blame other groups or individuals, in order to make themselves look good or to justify their actions and beliefs.

At the same time, the news media must present the news in an objective and non-opinionated manner, thus leaving the analysis and opinion of the news to the discretion of the reader or listener.