Are we a people that shoots and kills, or tries to kill, our leaders? Apparently, so. Apparently, this is something that we didn’t grow out of after the 1960s ended.
This hasn’t happened a lot since JFK/MLK/RFK, but they’re still around. Guns were aimed at President Ford in two separate incidents in 1975 and President Reagan had his close call in 1981 before what happened on July 13 toward former President Trump.
Maybe we can pat ourselves on the back that one of these hasn’t happened in more than 40 years, but it’s still a thing.
Since former President Trump survived, it’s easy to say “This could have been worse”. While true, to an extent, a man still died and two more were wounded.
Say his name: Corey Comperatore. He was a husband, father, and volunteer firefighter who died while trying to protect his family when the shots rang out. The two other victims, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, are reportedly in stable condition.
Oh wait, there was another victim.
You might be wondering why I’m even uttering his name, but unfortunately, the names of Oswald, Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, and even Hinckley are part of the history books.
Now, so is Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Comperatore, Mr. Dutch, and Mr. Copenhaver young Mr. Crooks was a child of God created in the image and likeness of Him.
God spoke to the young man all of this life and had a plan for him. I can’t speak to any knowledge of his faith life leading up to the events of July 13, 2024, but I can venture that his heart was not open to the Holy Spirit or the voice of God on that day.
That young man’s life was ended while others were defending those he was threatening by his sinful actions.
We may never know the “Why?” behind what this young man did, but we never really found out why Oswald did what he did either, all conspiracy theories aside.
A time to pause
Between now and Election Day November 5 (and beyond), we have to figure out where we are going as a people and what our future will look like.
Former President Trump reportedly said, “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” speaking about his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
In words from the Oval Office on July 14, President Biden spoke about “the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors. We’re friends, coworkers, citizens. And, most importantly, we are fellow Americans. And we must stand together.”
Without finger-pointing and blaming, both men are urging unity through differences and not a world where the political divide is so heated that it is costing people their lives.
While we can hope for good to come from the bad of July 13, we also don’t want to hope for violent acts so they can bring about peace or unity.
What is the rest of this week, this month, and this year going to look like for our country? I don’t know, but I hope the people of the United States will try to make ourselves better instead of making ourselves worse.
You may choose the political figure of your choice, but I hope we can reflect on words such as those that Robert Kennedy made on that night in 1968 when Dr. King was shot, as he said, “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another.”
Coping and moving forward
There are a lot of emotions being felt after what happened in Butler, Pa., on July 13.
Some people are angry. Some people are sad. Some people are stunned. Some people are numb. Some want to move forward and act. Some want to pause and reflect.
If we are truly citizens of the “greatest country in the world,” we’ll know what to do as the next days, weeks, and months come.
If we are at a “life or death” moment in our country, I hope we’ll all find a way to choose life.
I don’t want to see what happens if this is a shooting of Archduke Ferdinand moment for our nation. We must be better than that.
As Catholics, we are going to pray. Oh, are we going to pray.
If we don’t know what to do now or how to react, God will guide us.
We can be proud of the actions of the Secret Service agents, cooperating officials, and others during the events of July 13, but we will never be proud that any of it happened.
For those of my generation and younger, assassinations are supposed to be a thing of the past, but unfortunately, violence and hate are not.
Let’s not add another layer of violence and hate to the already existing violence and hate.
We won’t be pushed around, run over, hurt, or destroyed, but we will live through and with love.
Thank you for reading.
I’m praying for us.