The Life of Elliott

Is There Blood on Palin’s Hands?

I have never been a fan of Sarah Palin, but I don’t think she should be held completely responsible for the tragedy that occurred in Tucson this weekend. People have been blaming the ex-presidential candidate for the tragedy because she used gunshot imagery to target 20 House Democrats last year.

While many are saying the slaying in Tuscon is all the fault of Palin and her PAC, I disagree. While in hindsight the attack campaign seems a terrible choice, it would have been hard to know someone would take it literally. Perhaps Palin should have chosen a better attack plan, who knows? If we have to be held responsible for the actions of the insane, many other people would be in trouble. Sure, we can try to recognize the signs that hint at individuals making poor choices, but it is the individual’s responsibility to take the blame for the results of their poor decisions.

What can be taken away from this is lessons for the future. Politicians should take into account those who may take their ideas literally. Whether the gunman of the Tuscon shooting was ‘inspired’ by Palin or not is unclear., but why take that risk with political campaigns. I think the Tea Party put it best in following from their statement on the shooting “Spirited debate is desirable in our country, but it only should be the clash of ideas.”

A Friend.

So I recently reconnected with an old friend and thought I would write a blog for her. Y’all are welcome to read along though…

Life has been hectic since school started again. I thought that getting ahead on college stuff over the summer would make things easier, and I suppose it has, but it still seemed like a ton of work. Thankfully I’ve been able to survive and just finished submitting my applications tonight!

Yesterday I tried out for a solo for the choir winter concert, and hopefully I’ll get into the program. I’m planning on singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” because I was in the musical its from in the 8th grade (Meet Me in St. Louis). I think the audition went well but you never know with those sorts of things. I always think I sound weird when I sing in front of people, but I think its one of those weird brain tricks.

I had an awesome Thanksgiving with my parents and uncle and aunt. I know I’m jumping all over the last few weeks but hey, a lot has happened! Thanksgiving is a cool holiday because its uniquely American; we didn’t have it in England. I of course can’t complain about eating turkey twice in the space of a month, yum.

I also went on a date. It was a first date in two respects: first time I had ever been on a date period and first time I had been on a date with this girl. You. Yes You. It was AMAZING. Harry Potter was awesome, Chinese food was great, and coffee (well, hot chocolate in my case) was delish. It was truly an awesome night with an awesome person! And “Girl Named Tennessee” is now stuck in my head…

Speaking of you, yes you, I am so glad we have got to know each other more. You are so fun to talk to and make my day like every single day :-D.

More to come, stay tuned!

You know what’ cool? When you realize that God has made something happen a certain way because its for the best, even when you think He’s wrong.