Democracy Dies Not in Darkness, But in Our Inability to Disagree

A Republican Congressman is shot on a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia along with several others and some individuals on the Left think this is OK because he wants to repeal Obamacare.

A Republican Congressional candidate assaults a reporter who asked him a question about the CBO score on Trumpcare and some individuals on the Right think this is OK because they think the reporter is a liberal.

In light of the fact that the man who shot Steve Scalise and four other individuals (including two Capitol Police officers) was a campaign volunteer for Bernie Sanders there is a great temptation for the Right to do to the Left what the Left did to the Right 6½ years ago when former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot while six other individuals were killed in Tucson, Arizona. But conservatives would be just as wrong to vilify every supporter of Bernie Sanders as many liberals were wrong to vilify all Tea Party members after the Tucson shooting.

Complicating matters is President Trump. Although up to this point, he has not said anything untoward concerning what happened in Alexandria. Indeed, he was quite eloquent yesterday when he stated:

We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country.

But for how long will Trump exercise restraint on this matter?

What happens the next time Trump takes to Twitter?

 

After all, Trump is on public record as characterizing the mainstream media as an "enemy of the American people." If Trump considers the mainstream media to be an enemy of the American people then what does that make ISIS?

Democracy dies not in darkness, but in our ability to disagree with each other in a civil and proper manner.

Democracy cannot survive without differences of opinion and the ability to tolerate those differences.

Debate and dialogue can be healthy, but the manner in which we are doing it in 2017 is not healthy and must change for the sake of our survival as a democracy.