I jumped up from an afternoon nap and rushed to the television Saturday upon reading the subject line on an emailed news release on my phone: “Gluesenkamp Perez statement on shooting at Trump rally.”
What?
I watched the coverage of the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, overwhelmed by horror, the same horror I experienced on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob stormed our nation’s Capital.
How could this be happening in our country?
Nobody should ever be the target of assassination. I don’t care how much we disagree on politics. Violence is never the answer.
Political rhetoric on both the left and the right has heated up as the November election approaches, so much so that I’ve seen a meme circulating on Facebook that says, “Don’t lose friendships today over two men who don’t even know your names. It’s OK to have different political views and still maintain love and respect for each other.”
Every time I saw it, I pushed the “like” button. I count people of all political stripes among my friends.
Especially as a Christian, I am called to love everybody, even those I dislike or disagree with politically or religiously.
We are a democratic republic built upon the search for religious freedom, a country whose armed forces have fought for freedom throughout the world. Although I’ve never voted for Trump, I don’t hate him — or anyone else. And I certainly never condone violence against anyone.
My heart breaks for the family of Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former Pennsylvania fire chief attending the Trump rally who threw himself into the line of fire to protect his wife and two daughters. He gave his life as a hero. I’m praying for his family.
I’m also praying for complete healing of Trump, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, all three injured in this senseless act.
The question remains in my mind: Why? Where has civility in politics gone? Why are people so angry?
A Secret Service counterterrorism sniper quickly shot and killed the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania who used his father’s AR-15 in the shooting. A former classmate described him as a loner who was bullied relentlessly for his appearance, according to CBS News. He had registered as a Republican but donated $15 to a progressive political action committee in 2021 on the day Biden was inaugurated.
Was the shooting politically motivated? Or was this a misguided attempt to gain notoriety and news headlines?
I long for the days when Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democrat Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill enjoyed a drink together at the end of a day. Political opponents but friends.
But even then, a mentally deranged man fired .22-caliber shots at President Reagan as he left a hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, seriously wounding the president, a police officer, a Secret Service agent and White House Press Secretary James Brady. John Hinckley Jr. claimed he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.
We could learn a lesson from the hero who died at the rally. His neighbor, a fan of President Joe Biden, described Comperatore as an easy going, patriotic man and avid Trump fan who never let their political differences come between them.
I appreciated Trump’s message on Sunday calling for unity and resilience after the attempt on his life.
After watching the debate on June 27, I decided I’d once again need to write in a third candidate on my presidential ballot — the same name I wrote in 2016: “God.”
No matter our politics, this country needs God.
I keep hearing in my mind the chorus to Chet Power’s 1963 song “Get Together,” later recorded by the Kingston Trio and the Youngbloods.
“Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now.”
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
