By Nate Nehring and Jared Mead / For The Herald
The assassination attempt on President Trump’s life last weekend marks another page in what has been a hideous chapter of political polarization in America.
Watching this attack unfold on live television ought to have been sobering for any American, regardless of political ideology. While Donald Trump thankfully survived the attempted murder, rally attendee Corey Comperatore tragically lost his life as he courageously shielded his own family from the gunfire. As Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania put it, “Corey died a hero.”
What happened in Butler, Pa., was an attack on American democracy in every sense of the phrase. When citizens’ lives are at risk while attending political rallies and candidates or public officials are targets of violence for the views they hold, something has clearly gone wrong. As we all know, the political temperature in our country has been boiling over for quite some time now. The assassination attempt on Trump did not come out of nowhere and, jarring as it may have been, was sadly not all that surprising.
To be clear, the perpetrator of this crime bears a tremendous amount of personal responsibility for killing a man and attempting to assassinate a candidate for president. But we are deluding ourselves if we fail to acknowledge the widespread culpability shared by every individual, media outlet and political organization that has contributed to creating the toxic political environment where this sort of heinous attack is not just possible, but probable.
Today, political candidates and elected officials are regularly labeled as a “threat” and accused of being “dangerous” for the country. The end-of-the-world hysteria associated with the wrong person or party being elected to office is impossible to ignore. We’ve all witnessed the increase of insults and accusations that have been hurled from left to right and from right to left over the past decade. Many of us have likely experienced these ourselves, whether it be from a stranger, co-worker, or even a family member.
Let’s look, for example, at a couple of the comments that have been made in the aftermath of last weekend’s assassination attempt. Ashley Nerbovig, a reporter for local Seattle media outlet The Stranger, tweeted “make america aim again.” Steven Woodrow, an elected state representative in Colorado had this to say: “The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are.”
Is it any surprise we are now raising a future generation into a politically-violent America when these sorts of comments are made after an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, not to mention the vile things htat had regularly been said beforehand; about both Democrats and Republicans? Would we have tolerated these sorts of absurd statements being made by elected officials and members of the media after the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life?
Following the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981, he was visited in the hospital by political rival and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill. According to Rich Gorecki, who wrote about the interaction, O’Neill took the president’s hands as he lay in the hospital, said “God Bless you, Mr. President,” got down on his knees to offer a prayer for Reagan, then kissed him on the forehead.
Despite our imperfections, America is the greatest country on earth thanks to the many sacrifices which have been made by generations past. Our nation has demonstrated resilience throughout history by coming together to unite in times of tragedy. Verbal and physical attacks on fellow citizens who happen to be political adversaries, whether these attacks be in the comments section online or at a rally in Butler, Pa., must end if we desire to protect our nearly 250-year old American experiment for future generations.
In the wake of this tragic event, Americans have a choice to make. We can decide to retreat back into our political corners and double down on the toxic tribalism that has brought us here. Or, we can rise to the occasion by playing a role in lowering the temperature throughout our nation.
The stakes couldn’t be higher; the future of our country is on the line. We can start in our own homes with the way we talk about our political rivals while smaller ears are listening. We can start by setting aside the keyboard and refraining from engaging in unproductive arguments online. We can start by shifting our mindset to see others who think differently as fellow Americans first and political rivals second.
This latter path is far more difficult and will require a great deal of individual humility and courage, but that is the path we must choose to take if we wish to correct course before it is too late.
Nate Nehring and Jared Mead are elected members of the Snohomish County Council. Councilmember Nehring is a Republican who represents District 1 and Councilmember Mead is a Democrat who represents District 4. They have also co-founded a non-profit, The Building Bridges Project, dedicated to bridging the political divide. To learn more, please visit www.TheBuildingBridgesProject.org.
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