Tonight a Presidential candidate was shot. Fortunately, a call this close is something we haven’t seen in America for quite some time. While we are certainly not a democracy immune to violence, we have long enjoyed a certain abhorrence to it that some of our fellow electorates have not. Democrat or Republican, this is a big deal. A lone gunman tried to take the outcome of a nationwide election into their own hands. Deeper than that, one person tried to take the life of another.
React
Whenever something like this occurs, there’s always a rush to determine outcomes and reactions. Already there are rumors on the Left of the shooting being staged and lamentations that the shooter didn’t have better aim. On the Right there are cries for reactionary and punitive violence. Before the blood has even dried there are attempts on both sides to weaponize the issue and mobilize the American people towards the vote and even towards violence.
Trump
I am no fan of Donald Trump. Personally I believe he belongs in handcuffs far away from the ability to influence and govern the American populace. But tonight Donald Trump will be in my prayers. I know to some of my readers those words will taste bitter, but sometimes the bitter pill is the one we are called to stomach. Tonight wasn’t just an attack on a Presidential Candidate, it was an attempt by one person to force the country into a direction they believed necessary. It was an act of terror and violence, and the fact that it was towards my opponent gives me no right to support it.
Violence
Violence is wrong. It was no more wrong on January 6th than it was this evening. When we as a nation can find no other means to discourse than to take arms, we are wrong. When we as individuals become duped that the only way to change hearts and minds is to eliminate our opponents, we are wrong. Violence is wrong when it benefits you, just as much as when it impedes your candidate and your agenda.
An Ace to Play
Violence, like hatred, is the act of gulping down poison and expecting the other side to keel over. I cannot pretend like my first thought after hearing Trump had been wounded wasn’t that some would-be assassin handed him the election. Like it or not, Trump now has claim to living martyrdom. The Left/”Antifa” are violent just as he’s always said. Some imbecile with a weapon far too easily accessible in this country missed their shot and proved every self-fulfilling prophecy Trump has warned his audience of the past decade true. In short, I’m nervous.
I think there is a drive whenever something like this happens for everyone to be the first to publish their predictions and stamp their “I told you so’s”. I want to be wary of that impulse, and I don’t want to dive too far into speculation; but I want to be honest and admit that this event has made me nervous. It once again brings to the surface just how readily the American populace can be to pursue violence and the dangerous impact that one bad guy with a gun can have on so many millions of others. So I’m not going to end this blog with any semblance of a grand conclusion or a practical solution.
Closing
In closing all I have to say is what follows. Violence is wrong whether it is pre-emptive or not. Events like these are where the notion of loving your enemies is put to the test. I speak now to my Christian audience, are you willing to pray for the shooter and the victim alike? Or does one deserve your prayers tonight while another deserves to die?
I do not know what is going to happen next. All I know is that in the most violent of times lies the opportunity for our beliefs to be put to the test. Will we as a nation or as a faith rise to the challenge or will we fall like Samson, crumbling the pillars that will bring our enemies’ demise down on top of us too?
Collin Willis 