SHOOTING DEMOCRACY
As we all know, just several days ago at a rally in Pennsylvania, an attempt was made on the life of Donald Trump. An individual armed with a rifle, hate and stupidity tried to put his views ahead of millions of his fellow Americans. Trump will surely be the republican nominee for president, and it is the American people and our free elections that will decide his outcome, not a 20-year-old on a mission. I’m writing these newsletters because there is too much hate in our political discourse and if we don’t stand up against it, all of it, we will destroy our unity as Americans and soon after, our freedom. You’re not a Christian or an American if you believe that violence is the way you win debate. You are instead functioning as a cancer to our society. The shot did not kill Trump, but it did kill a beloved man in the stands who protected his family.
Like some of you, I watched the upper tier of leadership in the democratic party get eliminated in the 1960’s through assassination. Someone thought they knew better than the American people back then too. Our political discourse can be spirited and passionate as it should be, but we are all fellow citizens and friends, wanting the same freedom for our kids that we grew up with. Our elections can’t devolve into venomous disrespect for those with different views, or against election workers if we don’t like the outcome. They can’t be used to assault the institutions that protect us, and they certainly can’t include murder.
These are the times when we should come together regardless of party and flush this evil from our system. Instead, there will be some that will use this event to spread more hate towards their fellow Americans. They will use this tragedy as a new weapon to be pointed at their political opponents, oblivious to the harm they do to society. Look for them they can’t help themselves. Through violence and chaos, bad things emerge. We are better than that, we’re Americans.