Can We Find the Will to Unite Around What Matters Most?
On July 13, Donald Trump narrowly escaped being murdered by a 20-year-old assassin. Early in his remarks at a huge Pennsylvania rally, a slight turn of his head at just the right moment caused the bullet to tear a superficial wound into his ear rather than deliver the intended lethal head shot. The hand of God must have been on Donald Trump that day. His defiant response, as he shook off his secret service detail to allow him to fist-pump the crowd, their wildly enthusiastic response to him, and the massive security failure will undoubtedly all make an indelible mark in history.
Many supporters of Trump have been concerned it would come to this. His political enemies span a vast landscape that includes both political parties and the mainstream media. He is a threat to many who profit from the corruption that permeates our government and they have been trying to destroy him by any means possible since he entered the political arena. No political figure in memory has been harassed as he has. He has been subjected to lies about colluding with Russia, ginned up impeachments, multiple politically motivated indictments and non-stop rhetoric attempting to characterize him as the devil incarnate. Villainizing Trump has become a life’s mission for many and, with each new attempt to destroy him, he has emerged stronger as a champion of freedom and the American people. We have witnessed with our own eyes and ears that there are no apparent limits to the crusade to neutralize Donald Trump. No thinking person could possibly have seen what unfolded in Pennsylvania and not ask: Was this an epic display of security incompetence or a conspiracy of willful negligence by some who have come to the realization there is really only one way to take Donald Trump off of the political stage?
Immediately after the shooting the pretenders who are deeply committed to the political status quo began calling for unity. The same people who are responsible for escalating political rhetoric to a fever pitch implored everyone to “bring the temperature down.” Senator J.D. Vance, now the Republican nominee for Vice President, had it exactly right when he described the assassination attempt: “Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, who introduced legislation to keep Donald Trump from having Secret Service protection if he was sentenced to time in prison in his hush money trial, had to fire his Field Director for posting on social media after the shooting “…please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time….” She obviously had to be sacrificed for having publicly demonstrated her ignorance but does anyone really believe this type of vitriol isn’t common and acceptable within anti-Trump circles?
Members of the mainstream media were immediately on the “bring the temperature down” bandwagon, which was sickening. Their fingerprints are all over the fever pitch of the rhetoric. They were charged by our founders with the unique responsibility to serve the people as watchdogs of truth. They abandoned this responsibility in favor of pushing political agendas so long ago it’s hard to remember when, if ever, we trusted and respected them. Journalistic ethics and true investigative reporting are rare. In the Donald Trump era, the media have been some of the greatest disseminators of lies about him and shameless promoters of liberal ideology. In a stunning admission of media bias, MSNBC took its flagship 4-hour “Morning Joe” program off the air on the Monday following the shooting fearing one of the regulars would say something so inappropriate it would not only damage the show but the entire network. One has to wonder: Do the members of the media live in such a bubble they actually believe what they say or are they fully aware of how despicable and inexcusable their behavior is?
We are a deeply divided country. We have conflicting, incompatible visions for our future. The extreme liberal agenda threatens to fundamentally change our country in ways that will destroy freedom. Those of us who oppose it intend to protect and preserve the Constitution of the United States and the ideals that we believe make America great. There will be no uniting around this war of ideas. Victory and defeat are inevitable.
Is there any real chance for a country so divided to unite? Yes. We can choose to be a country united in moral clarity and personal responsibility. Moral clarity requires understanding the difference between right and wrong and accepting that it is not nuanced or fluid. It is the bedrock of righteous people. Personal responsibility takes us a step beyond knowing what is right to doing what is right. This is the unifying framework we lack. Spirited disagreement is an essential hallmark of freedom. Our founders understood that the freedom to speak without fear of reprisal and to openly debate opposing ideas would make our country strong. People with a rock solid moral compass committed to personal responsibility can manage their disagreements. Can we find the will to unite around what matters most?