It’s absolutely appalling that there have been two assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump’s life in less than two months.
No matter one’s feelings about the upcoming 2024 election and no matter which political party or candidate one favors, these back-to-back attempts to kill a U.S. president are a sad testament to the society in which we now live. And every single American should feel the same way.
Sadly, there are many who don’t, and they take to social media offering hate-speak that does nothing to tamp down the anger rising across the country.
While the right is yelling that the political rhetoric on the left is to blame, and the left is pretty much singing the same song in reverse, we don’t believe the blame comes in a nice, neat package easily explained away
Quite naturally, each of us is siding with our choice, believing that what the Harris campaign says, or what the Trump proponents spout are causing the heightened anger that has roused the interest of gun-carrying rebels intent on bringing the candidate they find most distasteful to their knees.
Right now, the target has been on Trump’s back, but we are convinced there are just as many out there who have considered putting Harris in their crosshairs.
We contend that perhaps the blame starts with all of us who have used social media as a bully pulpit to coerce, tease and, yes, anger those on the opposite side of the political fence.
It’s time to turn the microscope on ourselves and examine what role we might have played, and continue to play, starting with reviewing our posts, shares and memes, perhaps even examining the memorabilia we affix to our vehicles.
It’s one thing to disagree on policy or simply root for the candidate that best aligns with our beliefs, but it’s another when we turn to hate speak, taunting folks with ridiculous and disrespectful cartoons and memes that depict candidates as everything from demonic to pornographic.
None of it is true, merely degrading attempts at distasteful humor.
Sadly, however, there are those among us trolling social media platforms that take all the nonsense to heart, believing, in fact, that candidates are the demonic monsters some of us make them out to be. They are often the ones with emotional issues, armed with weapons, who set out to right the wrongs the rest of us profess these candidates have done.
While everyone is responsible for their own actions, lighting the fires of discourse and then fanning the flames does nothing to tamp down an already psychotic mind.
Perhaps it’s time we all took a look at the hate we are spewing on social media and accept that maybe, just maybe, we are prodding people to do far more than just vote.