We should not forget that an innocent bystander lost his or her life. That is a horrific and irreparable tragedy.
I am in complete agreement with the sentiments of this essay and the message is important. My only observation is that the Civil War metaphor has become an overused rhetorical trap. It assumes that there exists a grand divide between two hostile armies. We are supposed to be the red and the blue instead of the blue and the gray. I don’t believe that the majority of Americans see themselves as divided from their fellow citizens as much as it is a narrative pushed by those who earn their bread through division. In this sense, most of us are innocent bystanders.
Perhaps it is because I am becoming old that I do not look back to the Civil War. Instead, last night’s tragedy reminded me of being told of President Kennedy’s assignation while riding home on the school bus. People my age have the shared experience of asking “where were you when heard about JFK, Bobby, and MLK?” The memory of it all overwhelmed me when I visited the JFK museum some years back. Sadly, we are all reliving it now.
Thank you for this post. It can be hard to separate from one's political passions at a moment like this, but this is exactly the time when that separation is most important. Political violence always leads to innocent deaths as did this one. The right thing to do is to react from our best selves. While I have strong political beliefs, I will never support this kind of violence in our country. I happened to hear the news a short time after it happened, and quickly went to FB to oppose such actions. Small step from someone with a small level of influence.
All true. This is an event where people's true characters show - the exploiters, the haters, all of them. Deeply grateful this human being didn't get shot, and I'll never vote for the guy, ever.
We should not forget that an innocent bystander lost his or her life. That is a horrific and irreparable tragedy.
I am in complete agreement with the sentiments of this essay and the message is important. My only observation is that the Civil War metaphor has become an overused rhetorical trap. It assumes that there exists a grand divide between two hostile armies. We are supposed to be the red and the blue instead of the blue and the gray. I don’t believe that the majority of Americans see themselves as divided from their fellow citizens as much as it is a narrative pushed by those who earn their bread through division. In this sense, most of us are innocent bystanders.
Perhaps it is because I am becoming old that I do not look back to the Civil War. Instead, last night’s tragedy reminded me of being told of President Kennedy’s assignation while riding home on the school bus. People my age have the shared experience of asking “where were you when heard about JFK, Bobby, and MLK?” The memory of it all overwhelmed me when I visited the JFK museum some years back. Sadly, we are all reliving it now.
Thank you for this post. It can be hard to separate from one's political passions at a moment like this, but this is exactly the time when that separation is most important. Political violence always leads to innocent deaths as did this one. The right thing to do is to react from our best selves. While I have strong political beliefs, I will never support this kind of violence in our country. I happened to hear the news a short time after it happened, and quickly went to FB to oppose such actions. Small step from someone with a small level of influence.
All true. This is an event where people's true characters show - the exploiters, the haters, all of them. Deeply grateful this human being didn't get shot, and I'll never vote for the guy, ever.