Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s home church was heavily damaged by a suspicious fire Friday night.
Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at $1 million, authorities said Saturday. No one was injured in the fire, which was set Friday night while a handful of people, including two children, were inside, according to Central Mat-Su Fire Chief James Steele.
He said the blaze was being investigated as an arson but didn’t know of any recent threats to the church. Authorities didn’t know whether Palin’s connection to the church was relevant to the fire, Steele said.
“It’s hard to say at this point. Everything is just speculation,” he said. “We have no information on intent or motive.”
It’s to early to know what the motivation of the person who set this fire was, hopefully it was just an act random inhumanity rather than politically motivated. Churches and other places of worship are, unfortunately attacked by nutcases all to often in this country.
That said I can’t help but think this is where the vitriolic atmosphere of American politics will ultimately take us. Somehow we have come to a place where policy differences become tied to a kind of visceral hatred which invites the unhinged to take violent actions against those they disagree with. If we cannot disagree without demonizing each other, the very foundations of our democracy and our society as a whole are in jeopardy.
Ed Morrissey has more @ Hot Air.