Prescient, but is it too soon?

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Arizona, there has been much debate over the culpability of political pundits and politicians and their use of vitriolic rhetoric. Do people like Sarah Palin have a responsibility to temper her words and imagery on the chance that someone might "target" one of her "targets"?

I, for one, believe that these messages should bear some of the responsibility. Claiming that this was the act of a lone man seems dangerously naive. Maybe he wasn't influenced by Beck or Palin or others of their ilk, but that doesn't change the miasma of violence and hate created by such inflammatory speech. Even if he wasn't influenced by them or some left-wing extremist (as some have claimed), this tragedy should still cause reflection and a re-evaluation by politicians and talking heads about how they present their message. Despite Palin's denial of having any responsibility, she did immediately take down her map with targets (her aide called them surveyor's symbols) over congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford's district.

I know everyone has voiced opinions about this terrible event. I am only adding my comments because of the episode of V that I just watched. It is a hallmark of good science-fiction to hold a mirror up to society in an attempt to expose faults. I'm sure the initial intent for V was to do just that. I had no idea it would be so accurate.

For those of you who have not seen the show, it is about a small group of people who believe that the aliens who have arrived on earth are dangerous. These people are working to foil the aliens's plans. One of the humans is a priest who has been using his sermons to warn other people about the dangers of the aliens.

He likened the struggle against the aliens to a war, and that everyone in the congregation must be a soldier. He was amazed and felt extremely guilty when one of his parishioners became a suicide bomber. My guess is that Fr. Jack will definitely be amending his sermons in the future.

I'm sure it was just an amazing coincidence that this episode aired less than a week after the shooting, but I'm a little surprised that they showed it. I really wonder what the reaction will be among viewers. What a shame that we live in a world that so closely mirrors a science-fiction TV show.