We are better than this.
That sentiment is echoing across the country in the wake of Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
Political violence is never acceptable.
And it was met with forceful and near universal condemnation.
President Joe Biden at a Saturday news conference said “Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country.”
Former President Barack Obama posted on X: “There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. We should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.”
Former President George W. Bush said through the George W. Bush Presidential Center, he and Laura Bush “are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life.”
Former President Bill Clinton said in a statement, “Violence has no place in America, especially in our political process. Hillary and I are thankful that President Trump is safe, heartbroken for all those affected by the attack at today’s rally in Pennsylvania, and grateful for the swift action of the U.S. Secret Service.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence wrote on X that he and his wife “thank God that President Trump is safe and recovering following yesterday’s attempted assassination and are grateful for the swift response by Secret Service that undoubtedly saved lives … There is no place in America for political violence and it must be universally condemned.”
One man in the audience was killed, and at least two others were wounded. The shooter, perched on a roof a few hundred feet from the stage from which Trump was speaking at Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, Pa., was killed by the Secret Service.
The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. His motivation is unknown. And it almost doesn’t matter.
We are better than this.
In the United States of America, we use elections and our First Amendment rights of speech, assembly and petition to spark change, not bullets.
There’s no doubt that this nation is sharply divided. Democrats and Republicans both have warned that the November presidential election will be the most important ever. Both parties have said that if their party doesn’t win, democracy will end in America.
It’s almost never as dire as the loudest voices claim. But in today’s climate, intense political differences manifest as hatred of the other. Politicians and their operatives are bent to hyperbole, never mind the grave consequences.
Georgia Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Collins, both longtime purveyors of incendiary rhetoric, did not resist their inflammatory urges in the aftermath of the shooting, blaming, without evidence, Democrats, including Biden. We should expect more from our elected officials at a time of national crisis. They must be better than that.
And it’s up to regular folks to discern the exaggerated from the real as they scroll X, Facebook and TikTok and scan subject lines on inbox fundraising pleas.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was right when he said on NBC News’ “Today” show, “We’ve got to turn the rhetoric down. We’ve got to turn the temperature down in this country. And we need leaders of all parties on both sides to call that out.”
We are better than this.
Which is why we need our politicians and their followers to not demonize their opponents. We all want what’s best for our country and our fellow Americans. Someone who believes differently from you is not the enemy, and certainly not evil. Politicians who work across the aisle for the American good should not be castigated by demagogues as traitors.
We don’t need to spread conspiracy theories or distort truth to win an argument or an election.
We can disagree with civility.
We’ve been here before, with disastrous consequences.
Fifty-six years ago, in 1968, our nation was galvanized by war and social change, and a civil rights leader and a major presidential candidate were assassinated. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on a hotel balcony in Memphis in April. Robert F. Kennedy was shot at a Los Angeles hotel in June after having won the California Democratic primary.
The nation was shocked by King’s death, and riots erupted in many cities. Kennedy’s death fed the fears of an electorate that had been told repeatedly that the nation’s soul was on the line.
How we move forward now is up to us.
Some might wonder if we are up to the challenge.
We don’t wonder.
We know we are better than this.
The Editorial Board
