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It’s difficult to gauge the pressure in the valve of political discourse until the top blows off. Sadly, on July 13, 2024, the top blew off when gun shots rang out at a President Donald Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Prior to last Saturday’s horrific attack, the last time an incumbent Commander-in-Chief was wounded in an assassination attempt was President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
What could have fueled such a brazen attack in the year 2024? In our 248-year history as a nation, we have made tremendous progress on major policy and moral issues, but recently it seems we have been going backwards on free speech and the value of good faith debates.
Recent surveys tell us that most Americans don’t feel comfortable discussing their beliefs in public anymore and that 8 in 10 Americans view U.S. politics in a negative light. This disconnect between the American people doesn’t happen overnight and certainly doesn’t happen at the hand of one individual. This division has been building over time, and now it has gone too far.
I believe the root cause of this divide in our nation is the use of inflammatory rhetoric and sensationalism in the media and our everyday lives. Disagreeing with someone isn’t enough anymore; there is a desire to vilify and dehumanize those who disagree with you. Extreme rhetoric that has pervaded our political commentary in recent years is impossible to ignore and has led to sporadic dangerous attacks on prominent figures from both political parties.
In 2017, then Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot by a left-wing activist while participating in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. In June of 2022, a would-be attacker was apprehended outside of a Supreme Court Justice’s home with the insidious intent to change the balance of power on the Court, and later that same year an attacker broke into the home of the former House Speaker Pelosi and brutally assaulted her husband.
These incidents serve as a chilling reminder of the consequences of inflammatory rhetoric and the need for responsible leadership. At the very least, these episodes are compelling evidence in the case that my congressional colleagues and I have made over the past four years of the importance of upholding this nation’s rule of law – a law that protects speech and punishes violence.
In the aftermath of those incidents and the attempted assassination of President Trump, it is important that all Americans stand united, regardless of political affiliation. We must reject hatred and violence in all its forms and reaffirm our commitment to the values that make America the greatest nation on Earth.
Engage in debate with your fellow Americans, try to understand why they believe what they believe instead of just labeling them as your enemy because they don’t agree with your views.
We all want what’s best for this country, so let us strive for a future where political differences are resolved through dialogue, debate and through elections decided at the ballot box - not senseless acts of violence. If we do this, we will ensure that America remains a beacon of hope and liberty around the world for generations to come.
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