Is anyone surprised that the level of invective in political discourse has led to slaughter? Even if Karl Rove and Glenn Beck and, lord knows, Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin didn't actually pull the trigger in Arizona, their eager and heedless pursuit of the lowest common denominator of rage, a cynical tactic to divide Americans for political gain, has set the stage for this tragedy.

It doesn't matter that the man who finally made good on the thousands of threats received in the last year by American politicians is mentally ill. What matters is that the talking heads, the shameless men and women of all political persuasions, who scream and shout and distort the truth in order to raise and sway a mob, show such utter disdain for our nation.

We are not "America", but the United States of America. That single word changes everything. And the truth is, cliche or not, united we stand, divided we fall.

It's happening now, right now, and if we don't speak up, you and I, we are complicit.