The tragedy at Donald Trump’s
Pennsylvania rally yesterday brings into stark focus the dangers of overblown
political rhetoric. President Trump’s ear will heal, one way or another, but a
rally attendee is dead, others seriously injured, and (often forgotten in such
things), the 20-year-old young man who did the shooting is also dead. While the
latter result was certainly something he brought on himself, we must suppose
that to his parents and other loved ones, his loss is included in the tragedy,
and maybe the worst of it..
For months, even years, we have heard that Trump will
destroy democracy, that America as we know it will end, that he is a second
Hitler, or practically Hitler reincarnate. Whatever one may think of the man or
his candidacy, that political rhetoric is exaggerated for effect. The problem
is that people, especially deranged people, take it seriously.
This young gunman may well have felt it was his patriotic
duty to save the country from the fate he has been assured would befall the
nation under Adolf Trump. He may have believed that, though he would die in the
effort, he would be hailed as a hero who preserved the nation. We cannot know
for sure what went on in his mind. I am reminded of the various times I have
heard people ask what someone would do if they had a time machine. One of the
most common answers (other than buy Microsoft stock early) has been to go back
in time and kill Hitler. There is never a question whether that would be morally
acceptable; it is presumed that for the greater good, it would be the right
thing to do, (though the answer becomes more difficult when it is presented
with Hitler in his infancy.)
I think it is absolutely correct to present every documented
truth about a candidate in considering an election. It is unquestionably legitimate
to point out errors, crimes, inconsistencies, character flaws and frailties
when discussing who should occupy our seats of leadership, especially the
highest one. But when we demonize someone as though he were the devil himself,
or someone as close to Satan as Hitler, Stalin, Mao or whichever other
boogeyman fits our narrative, we create a situation in which someone may feel
not only justified, but compelled, to save us from the monster. And in so
doing, we depart from the civilized society we like to consider that we have,
and become akin to those we claim to oppose. We follow in the footsteps of Hitler
himself, who demonized Jews as subhuman. We follow in the lead of Al-Qaeda and
ISIS, who convinced their followers that it was their moral imperative to fly
planes into buildings and behead civilians.
Someone or something convinced a kid just starting his adult
life to try to kill Donald Trump. He probably felt it was the right thing to do.
That is easy to convince ourselves about when the information backs the
conclusion.
I cannot claim to be blameless; I have engaged in my share of
vitriolic political invective myself, even though often in jest. But we really
need to think deeply about what we say, especially if we are in positions of
influence. Pointing out the flaws and virtues of every candidate and position
is a vital part of the national dialogue in a nation governed by the people.
Depicting them with Nazi swastikas or devil horns is a step too far.
