When we observed the Fourth of July, celebrating our independence as a nation and the birth of our democracy, I could not have foreseen having to pen a statement condemning the attempted assassination of a former president and current presidential candidate only two weeks later.
Our nation is all too familiar with politically motivated acts of violence, perpetrated in some of the darkest moments of our collective history. It pains me that we have not yet moved beyond these grim compulsions. There is absolutely no place for violence in our political discourse, and I condemn this heinous and cowardly act in the strongest possible terms. My thoughts are with former President Trump and all those who were injured during Saturday’s event.
As we move into an election season that has the potential to continue to divide rather than unite, I stand with those who call for a renewed commitment to civility and respect in our political and social conversations. I think of the words of Abraham Lincoln, from his second inaugural address, on his plans to heal a fractured nation: With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
It was only two weeks ago that I reflected back on those who fought for the cause of democracy in ways large and small. At this inflection point in our nation’s short but important history, I believe we all have an opportunity to continue that fight for the strength of our union – to bind up the nation’s wounds so that we might achieve a just and lasting peace.
