Please join me for a few moments of prayer, self-reflection, meditation, or simply a moment of silence. The attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump on Saturday evening violates everything we believe is acceptable in a free society. I believe that being a citizen in a free society requires us to respect each and every person whether we agree with them or disagree with them. My immediate reaction to what happened Saturday night in Pennsylvania was to recall a series of events that are permanently carved into my memory. The first was when I was eight years old and on November 22, 1963 President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Then when I was in the 7th grade in 1968 Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated within months of each other. Also, in 1981 I recall driving to work and hearing of an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan shortly after his inauguration.

Each and every time these tragedies occur it calls into question what each of our personal responsibilities are as citizens of the United States.

Clearly, in a free Democratic Society it is appropriate to disagree with one another, argue with one another, challenge one another, and get into rigorous debate. However, it is clearly unacceptable to resort to violence or to condone acts of violence on the part of others.

I have spent a lot of time in prior blog posts discussing the importance of taking the time to understand the opinions of others and developing a “balanced perspective.” What I most worry about in our current environment is that intense political polarization has created such an extreme environment that some are even justifying the use violence to accomplish political objectives. Let me make it clear, it is NEVER okay to condone acts of violence to accomplish political objectives.

After struggling with these topics Saturday night, I was fortunate to attend Sunday morning mass at my local parish, Saints Joseph & Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Wilmette. My pastor, Father Wayne Watts, did a remarkable job in his homily of holding each one of us accountable to be examples of what a values-based person should be doing. Rather than reflecting on the actions of others, focus on our own personal rules. What examples are we setting for others by our words and actions?

For those who may be interested, I am attaching a link to a video that includes Father Wayne’s homily. A few of his comments that hit home to me included:

  • “Are we living up to our calling?”
  • “It is fine to vigorously disagree, but do we have the right to reject charity? ….NO”
  • “Are we rejecting what is contrary to our beliefs as Christians?” (by the way, feel free to substitute any other religious or spiritual beliefs you may have since I believe this question is appropriate for every human being to be asking themselves).

Here’s a link to his full homily from 20:35 to 30:20

In addition to prayers and self-reflection for former President Trump, please add Corey Comperatore as well, who was standing by Trump and was killed while trying to shield his wife and two daughters from the gunfire. 🙏🙏🙏

Here’s hoping we can return to focus on what makes the United States a very special country. 🙏🙏

 

Header photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Balance | Blog | Self Reflection