America the Beautiful

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA

I've been thinking a bit about the shootings in Alexandria, VA last week.  The attack wounded Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) and several others. Capitol Police officers David Bailey and Crystal Griner, who were present as part of Scalise's security detail, responded with a counter-attack and killed the shooter.  Both were wounded in the process.  Witnesses believe that they saved lives by their quick and decisive action.

That's the bare-bones story.  But it leaves us with much to think about regarding the divisiveness present in America these days.

Have we really reached a point in America in which we cannot disagree without physical violence?

The more I think of this particular shooting, the sicker I get.  The angrier I become.

This shooting does not represent the America I know and love.

Anyone who thinks it does, is deranged.

The shock of this outrage lasted but a few minutes in some quarters, if it even existed at all.  Within days, while he was still unconscious, Scalise's political detractors said that his shooting was "self-inflicted to some degree"

Why was it self-inflicted?

Because of his politics, of course.

Huh?

He believes in a traditional view of marriage; he advocates for a smaller government and lower taxes.  If he brought this on himself, I suppose that I'd do well to begin wearing a Kevlar vest.  Me and at least half of America.

Unlike some others who have commented on this situation, I'm not going to paint one side as worse than the other.  I'm simply trying to introduce some civility into the discussion.  While it's true that ugly comments by some anger me, if I want to take them to task, I'll do it by name, not by class.

In other words, I'll say, "Bubba is a jackass if he thinks that Steve Scalise deserved to be shot," instead of saying "Liberals are hateful because they believe that he deserved to be shot."

See the difference?  One might even argue that I shouldn't call Bubba names.  One might be right.  On the other hand, if Bubba thinks that a congressman should be shot for voting for his beliefs and the beliefs of his district, Bubba is probably a jackass and I would just be stating a fact.

Now that I've gotten the introduction out of the way, here's the main point of today's post:

The true beauty of America is that we are allowed to disagree with one another.



My Beautiful Daughter, Becky

I've traveled quite a lot around our great land and it is indeed lovely to look at, but our landscape isn't our true beauty.

Consider this truth: my daughter is the loveliest girl in the world.  When I try to describe her beauty, words fail me.  I simply have no proper descriptors to convey how pretty she is.

In spite of this, there is something more beautiful than her face.  She has the wit and heart and soul of the loveliest woman in history.  It's the beauty that lives inside her that makes her truly lovely.

Just think how obnoxious I'd be if I were biased!



So it is with America.  Our landscape is stunningly diverse and beautiful, but our true beauty is our Freedom.

We are allowed to disagree with one another; that's how America works.  It's the thing that makes us strong and resilient.  Intolerance weakens us.  Hate, strife, and violence violate the fabric of the American Dream.

United States Constitution

As Americans, we have a deal with each other: you're allowed to think and vote as you please, and so am I.  You're even allowed to say what you think without repercussion.  Our fancy name for it is Freedom of Speech.

Oh, how I wish Americans were better students of history!

Would that more of us knew about the horrors of World Wars I and II.

About the oppression of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

And Cambodia

About concentration camps and gulags.

What a better country we'd have if more of us knew who Solzhenitsyn was!



Josef Mengele


And Mengele.

And Pol Pot.

If we knew about Auschwitz and Treblinka.

And Siberia.

And The Killing Fields.

If we really knew what oppression was like.

If we knew the fear of official reprimand for voicing our beliefs.

If that reprimand included a disease-ridden hut in a frozen landscape where the intent was to be worked to death.



Soviet Gulag

The lessons of the past are lost to an increasing number of Americans.  We are becoming a nation full of entitled brats who are more interested in the latest video game than in eternal truths and past realities.

We spend ourselves into debt to drive the latest car or wear the latest fashion.

We've never lost a ballgame because they didn't keep score.

Reading is too boring; TV is more fun, esp. "reality" shows.  Everyone knows who the best bachelor is; no one knows who the Speaker of the House or the Vice President is.

It's enough to make me feel old.


Cambodian Killing Field

And all because I've read a few books.  Well, and because my knees hurt sometimes.

Thankfully, there is hope because the beauty of America is that it's all actually pretty simple to understand.  All of our preciously held values revolve around one simple concept: Freedom.

But our Freedom wasn't easy to establish.  Nor has it been easy to maintain.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their lives to maintain our wonderfully simple value of Freedom.

Unfortunately, our Freedom is being attacked from within.  There are those among us who cynically advocate violence against those who think differently.  This is leading us in a tragic direction.  It's a direction that will lead us away from the Freedom that we crave and for which we have bravely fought over the past two centuries.

We are in danger of forgetting that America was (and is) a great political experiment.  The breadth and scope of our social and political contract, our Constitution, is shocking, especially when we consider the times in which it was conceived and written.

The mere fact that we have survived this long is somewhat surprising.  I'm of a mind that I'd like to see it not only survive, but thrive, a bit longer.

To achieve longevity, we must recognize the God-given rights that we each have.  We are allowed to disagree with one another, but we must remain a family as we do so.

We must all choose our words carefully as we express our opinions, because words convey ideas, and ideas are powerful things.

Ideas may lead to conflict, and conflict may lead to war.  Ideas may also lead to peace and prosperity.

It depends on the idea, but it also depends on how the idea is presented.

So speak your mind, but do it politely.

And don't shoot people who disagree with you.

Or cops.

That would make you a jackass, like Bubba.

TheCurmudgeon