As I'm sure everyone knows by now, there was a shooting of a Congressional baseball game earlier today. Multiple people were injured in the shooting, including GOP Rep. Steve Scalise who is currently in critical condition after undergoing surgery.
The gunman has been identified as James T. Hodgkinson, who was shot and died later at a hospital. Since that broke, its become apparent that he was a supporter of Sen. Sanders during this past Presidential campaign, and has since been very vocal in his opposition to Trump and the GOP in general.
This post isn't to discuss the shooting itself, but rather the immediate reaction I've seen, and why it worries me. Yes, this man was a "leftist" who attempted to kill others over political ideology. However, I think its important that we recognize why we've reached a point where someone would attempt such an act. The reason we're here is because we've become hyper-partisanized.
This is not the fault of one side, or the other, it is the fault of each and every individual who believes there are "sides" in this game we call politics. This is what happens when you stop recognizing those who have different ideas from you as peers and start identifying them as enemies. This is something that has been slowly happening in American politics for quite some time now, and there is no one group to blame.
In order to fight this, we must resist the urge to find a "side" to blame. In the immediate aftermath of this attack, I've seen both the left and the right jump at the opportunity to levy blame on the other. On here I've seen numerous posts mocking the left and attacking them. This deepens the divide that led us here. I've also seen the left jump to their attacks on gun ownership and mock the right for its defense of the 2nd amendment. This also deepens the divide that led us here.
We are in control of our own responses. Inevitably people defend their response by pointing out that "the other side started it" or "we need to fight fire with fire". These responses deepen the divide that has led us here. We need to fight the urge to do this. Even when we see people we disagree with jumping to that type of response, we must control ourselves and reach out to them. That is the only way to stop this disturbing trend, and if we don't recognize that here, we will not be able to overcome this problem. Reach out, try to find common ground, recognize that we are all part of the same whole, if need be, turn the other cheek. Retreating further into our trenches does nobody any good.
I also want to discuss one thing in particular, a criticism that I've seen brought by the left. About a year ago Sen. Rand Paul wrote about the need for guns to stop tyranny. As Sen. Paul was present at this shooting, the left has jumped at the chance to attack him for this tweet. Here is what he said:
Many on the left are pointing to this and asking what he thinks of it now, and suggesting he is a hypocrite for saying it. I don't know what Sen. Paul's response was, or what his response will be, but let me answer for him.
There is no set definition of tyranny. What this means is that each individual American, when contemplating its definition, will arrive at a different answer. Inevitably, there will be someone who draws their line far closer than what the majority of people think is appropriate. I personally believe that this shooting is one of those times. I also believe that Sen. Paul's tweet was true a year ago, and remains true today. Events such as these are one of the costs we weather for the right to defend ourselves from tyranny. Not only is it not hypocritical to believe in the 2nd amendment and condemn today's attack, it is imperative that we do so.
I hope that Sen. Paul stands by his tweet, and I hope that those condemning it can understand what I've written here. I also hope that those who support the 2nd amendment understand the costs, and recognize that this event is an inevitable cost. I believe that the benefit of the 2nd amendment is worth the cost.
I don't believe this man represents the left, and I don't believe he represents a problem of a certain group. I believe he is a wake up call to each and every one of us who engages in the partisan blame game. Each of us who points the finger at the other side, dehumanizes those who disagree, makes snide remarks about how they believe others will respond to events such as this, share part of the blame.