Recently our nation was traumatized by two mass shootings. Predictably, these acts of evil were immediately ransacked by media commentators, politicians and candidates in search of political ammunition. Left-of-center media started in immediately after the El Paso massacre, blaming President Trump and Fox News. But in less than 24 hours, another mass shooting occurred in Ohio which appears to have been committed by someone of the Left, and of course, conservative media was quick to point that out.

Let me suggest that instead of using this to point the finger at hyperbolic rhetoric from the “other side,” we’d do well it to point the finger at hyperbolic rhetoric in general.

You don’t have to look too long at cable news and social media to see our cultural affinity for overheated rhetoric.

Extremism mixed with mental illness is a toxic, and even lethal cocktail.

Let’s let the measured rhetoric start with us.