Greetings on a steamy Sunday evening in DC. We spent the weekend at the beach with dear friends from Philly who were our next door neighbors for many years and raised our children together. The weather was miserable, but the company was sublime.
While we were driving to dinner at a fabulous restaurant in Lewes, Del., we got the news about the assassination attempt on former President Trump, which left one innocent person dead with others critically injured. Much remains to be unraveled about this profoundly disturbing incident, ranging from how this could have happened, why it happened and what it means for the future. I find myself focusing on what it means for us as a people, and as a nation.
First, a personal aside, writing on behalf of nobody but me; I love life. Full stop – I love it. I understand that many people find it painful to live, and like anybody I have had my share of ups and downs in my own life journey. I also respect that many people view that this life is but a stop on a larger and longer eternal journey. I am not qualified to opine on when life starts or what happens after death. However, I don’t want it to end, though I know it must, for me and for all living beings. I love life so much that I have dedicated my career to preserving it and protecting it from the mortal harms caused by cancer.
So, I take all unnecessary deaths personally. I am pained whether death is caused by disease, by a terrible accident, by inhuman treatment or by willful violence. I am the descendant of innocent people who were objectified and dehumanized so that their mass murders became justifiable and acceptable to ordinary people. When do we (or can we) stop thinking about other people as symbols of the “other” as opposed to fellow human beings?
On Saturday evening we learned of an attempt by a young man to assassinate a former President of the United States. Though I am no fan of that former President, I find it horrific that someone thought that the best way to express their grievance was to commit murder.
I think that most people of good will love life and abhor the idea that murder can be justifiable. Our society cannot function without behavioral guardrails, ideally erected through the expression, acceptance and enforcement of moral constructs centered on the simple proposition that all forms of murder must end.
Democrats and Republicans cannot be mortal enemies, however differently they view the world. We are all Americans, and more importantly we all love life. Let’s start acting that way.
Make the world a better place this week.
Lou
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