Neither Donald Trump nor any other leader deserves to be a target of political violence
United States history is full of examples of attempted and successful assassinations of U.S. presidents.
Assassins killed Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Shooters tried to take out other commanders-in-chief, notably Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1933, and, in 1981, Ronald Reagan, who was injured badly but survived.
The apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally repeats a wicked pattern over two centuries to undermine the American government, unnerve the public and envelop the nation in fear.
Authorities confirmed the shooter was killed as was one bystander. At least two people were seriously injured.
Political violence is not acceptable ever in a democratic republic where the people make decisions with their votes.
Politically polarized sentiment has raised the temperature and has encouraged acts of violence or intimidation including the recent march by Neo Nazis in downtown Nashville. Nazis were fascists Americans fought to eradicate in the bloody World War II.
Tennessee officials such as Gov. Bill Lee are right to ask the public for their good intentions and prayers toward Trump. Nearly 61% of Tennessee voters cast ballots for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and the politics of the Volunteer State favor him again in 2024. But even if President Joe Biden were the one attacked, he too would deserve those intercessions.
Citizens should shirk a path toward violence
Details are still unclear in terms of the motives of the shooter, who is reportedly dead.
This act will influence the 2024 presidential political campaign. At worst, it will cause people to go deeper into their echo chambers and seek some sort of retribution or fear-monger.
But there is another path, one that The Tennessean Editorial Board has promoted for the last seven years in its Civility Tennessee initiative: Modeling, promoting and encourage better discourse.
Let’s look at civility not just as mere politeness, but as the responsibility of the citizen to uphold, sustain and challenge society.
Governor Lee recently participated in a conversation in Nashville on the National Governors’ Association Disagree Better Initiative.
Disagreements are inevitable in politics, but citizens should strive to resolve differences peacefully.
Violence begets violence, and the easy path is to blame one’s adversaries and political opponents for making the state of politics worse.
Killings of world leaders have altered the state of affairs
Assassinations change the course of history. The killing of Abraham Lincoln eventually led to policies that legalized racial segregation and undermined the promise of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments that gave full citizenship rights to Black men.
Across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe nearly 50 years later, the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand lit the spark that caused World War I.
We should not be wishing for the death of elected officials and leaders, and Trump is fortunate to be alive and safe.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Sadly, it is not unprecedented and it is never right.
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump attack was unacceptable and we must not let violence consume us
