A Call to Our Better Angels

When the Secret Service agents shielded former President Donald Trump off the stage to a waiting limo, he raised his fist to show that he was all right. As he repeated "fight, fight, fight," you knew that it would be easy to define his response as a call to take it to his political enemies. Thankfully, his comments since then have focused that word on his desire for America to know that he "fights on" in pursuit of his second term. Commentators are pointing to the iconic pictures of his fist as an indication of how strong and courageous he is as a man; you can't keep Trump down! The next few days will determine whether he can be "man" enough to tone down the anger and rhetoric that would be so easy to release against his political adversaries. Early indications are that he is asking Americans to give control to the better angels of their nature.

The day after the attack, Melania Trump penned a letter that showed her grace and love for America. She acknowledged the support she had received from Americans across our political divide. She closed her letter with these words: "And let us remember that when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm. Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now. This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again. I am thinking of you, my fellow Americans. The winds of change have arrived. For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide - thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family."

Former President Trump echoed that call for unity. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. Instead, we will FEAR NOT but remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizens who were so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our Country and you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin."

President Joe Biden took a strong response after the attempted assassination, "There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it... Everybody must condemn it." He called and talked directly to the former President. Trump acknowledged and appreciated Biden's call of concern and support. Biden's campaign also decided to stop all campaign ads in the coming days to tone down the rhetoric. Biden also echoed Trump's call for unity.

Former President Trump has also called for a change of theme for the Republican National Convention. There will be a call for unity in the Republican Party and in the country. Nicky Haley, the last campaign opponent to endorse Trump, has now been invited to speak at the convention on Tuesday night and has accepted. Unity does not mean an absence of focusing on party differences; it does mean lowering the heat of political discourse. Mike Huckabee, former Presidential candidate and Governor of Arkansas, asked all Americans to "fight ineffective but non-violent ways-debate, dissent, and ballots rather than censorship, retaliation, and bullets." Yes, we need less hateful comments and personal attacks and a heartfelt desire to seek first to understand each other across our political divide.

In this brief period where both parties are calling for change, we must work to disagree without being quite so disagreeable. Understand that in the world of social media and political opinion, the more extreme the statements are, the more eyeballs are attracted. We feed partisan hatred and forget that all of us know people on the other side of our political divide who we love and respect. We may disagree about how to ensure the right course for America, but the vast majority of Americans love this country and reject any form of violence.

There is a human trait that is easy to give in to and hard to resist-"When in pain, find someone to blame!" Some on the left have already blamed Trump's extreme statements on the campaign trail. Others on the right have blamed Biden for a campaign that called Trump a "threat to democracy." There are those who both praise and blame the Secret Service's response. There will certainly be time to review what can be learned from this tragic event. But rest assured, no matter what the motivation of Thomas Matthew Crooks to attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, he does not represent any responsible party or freedom-loving, law-abiding American from either party. Yes, political campaigning is a "fight" for our own side, but it should never condone violence of any kind.

How are we, the citizens, to respond? There indeed must be a call to our better angels, a rejection of hateful rhetoric and name-calling, a willingness to dialogue across our divide, and a spiritual commitment to live out God's love for our neighbors, even our neighbors who vote for the "other guy." America has survived past assassinations, successful and unsuccessful. It will survive this one. This is a wakeup call for our
country, may we each do our part to turn down the heat and increase the tolerance and respect for political differences. 

Terry Paulson is PhD psychologist, author, and professional speaker on Earned Optimism, Making Change Work, Claiming Your American Dream, and Becoming a Conservative Values Voter. Contact him at terry@terrypaulson.com