Let us be
respectful, sober, sanguine and balanced. The attack this morning on members of the GOP
caucus in Congress, which resulted in injury to a congressman, a Congressional
aide and a lobbyist, is inexcusable. It also resulted in the injury to Capitol
Police and death to the assailant. All needless loss; it was wrong,
unjustifiable and unproductive in virtually any conceivable sense.
In a true
democracy, and in a representative democracy, disputes and dissent should be
resolved through reasoned debate, not physical violence as a way of silencing
voices. The peaceful resolution of disputes and non-violent negotiation and transfer
of power are the hallmarks of a functioning democracy. Gun violence is heinous
and indefensible, as is the support of conditions that foster it.
What can be
said, in fairness and critique, is that the actions of an extremist assailant
in the attack are a symptom of the current sickness and degradation of our so
called union. We must be mindful that it took the shooting injury - apparent
assassination attempt - against a member of his party before the current
President made the first statement calling for unity since his election. He has
falsely claimed that some level of unity exists, typically proclaiming support
for himself or his actions that objective facts do not support. But he has not
actually taken any steps to bridge the divide he has been steadfast in creating
and exacerbating.
In a similar
vein, members of the House of Representatives who are saddened and claim to be
aggrieved by the attack all live in a protective bubble that isolates and
estranges them from the real consequences of their actions. Members of that
body, particularly GOP members, bemoan and are shocked by the incursion of gun
violence against their members during a leisurely recreational activity. Yet those
same individuals would neither bat an eye nor think twice about adopting
measures to send armed police into neighborhoods of color to shoot down and
terrorize the inhabitants. They cheer and exhort gestapo tactics to terrorize Latino families and tear families apart. They have no
sense of the violence and terror that accompanies actions to strip poor
families of health care protections that they and their families enjoy as a
matter of entitlement. They are eager to relieve restraints on companies that engage in predatory lending and other practices, as well as companies that pollute the environment to enhance profit. Such practices are "acceptable" primarily because none of the members of Congress bears the burden of the effect the practices have on average people they are supposed to represent. Democrats in elected positions are willing to abandon
Constitutional duty and principles, in exchange for large campaign donations,
by condoning and rationalizing such policies and acts of violence advanced by
the majority party. When bandying about the term of what “the people” want,
these elected officials have no sense of how alien those words sound when
ringing in the ears of those who live outside their protective bubble. It is nearly impossible to comprehend who
they are referring to, for the recipients of the violence in their words and deeds.
Malcolm X
attracted controversy when he made the astute observation that: “chickens come home
to roost.” We should not be shocked or
surprised when violence perpetrated on the most vulnerable, accompanied by
attempts to disenfranchise and suppress their voices in protest, results in a
return of that violence in some form. The extreme use/abuse of power of elective office to oppress, without willingness to listen to fact and reason or the protests of those affected by such actions fosters conditions for extreme responses. This is not stated in any way to condone
such reprisals. Indeed the very point is that neither that which is sown nor that which is reaped is defensible or justified. Both are unjustifiable attacks on democracy.
If this
horrible attack is to yield any lesson of value, it is that serious attempts must
be made to heal and to bring back reasoned debate into our representative
democracy. Those with power, regardless of party designation, must begin to
think of the nation and all of its people FIRST. The principles of the
Constitution must be read repeatedly and honored. The duty of elected officials
is to preserve and defend the nation and the “common good.” Power of elective
office is not a value unto itself or to preserve itself. It is of true value
only to the extent that it can be exercised for the benefit of the common good,
to raise the circumstances and opportunities for all. Those who use it
otherwise, are not fit to hold or exercise it.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lawmaker-steve-scalise-injured-in-gop-baseball-shooting-suspect-james-t-hodgkinson-dies-after-shootout/ar-BBCFi8H?li=BBnb7Kz
