We have seen times more violent than this
By D.J. McGuire | Monday, January 10th, 2011 | Policy, Politics
It has taken a while for me to wrap my brain around the murders in Tuscon – and truth be told, I don’t really think I’m there yet. As a former candidate for office – someone who did meet-and-greets, forums, and door-to-door campaigning – I never imagined a voter would decide my outstretched hand would be best met with a bullet. I was far less surprised that the conversation moved at warp-speed from praying for the victims to scoring points against political opponents – nor the strange ignorance that came with the belief that somehow, some way, this era of political discource was fouler and more heavily charged than any other in our history.
Really?
So many Americans have forgotten their own history. For the entire First Party era (1790s-1820s), violence in politics was considered so normal there were formalized rules for it (duels). In 1786, an alienated ex-Revolutionary War officer named Daniel Shays led an armed insurrection against the elected government of Massachusetts, and the voters responded by handing the government over to his allies. Alexander Hamilton’s attempt to save the Federalist Party from ex-Jeffersonian Aaron Burr led to the duel that ended to the former’s life and the latter’s political career. The rhetoric from any presidential campaign involving an Adams would make a 21st century voter, politician, or analyst recoil in horror. In the 1830s, the country was wracked by pro-slavery mobs that destroyed abolitionist newspapers and actually killed Elijah Lovejoy.
If that’s not enough, Google “Kansas 1856.”
The fact is that America is a far less politically violent place today. In fact, if Infoplease is correct (and my memory tells me it is), this is the first assassination attempt on an American politician in nearly 30 years, the longest such interval since before Richard Lawrence took two shots at Andrew Jackson in 1835. Roughly 100 years afterward came one assassin – Dr. Carl Weiss, the fellow who sent Huey Long to the great beyond – whose reputation in some quarters is still better than that of his victim.
Of course, none of this will assuage the pain and loss for the relatives of the fallen, and one assassination victim remains one too many. That said, perhaps our shock from this comes from the fact that it has become so infrequent in recent years – to the point where the killing of an elected official became as unthinkable before yesterday as it was painfully inevitable two hundred, one hundred, or even fifty years ago.
This outrageous act could very well become a moment for us, as a nation, to determine how far we have to go in terms of civility, but only if we also recognize how far we’ve already come.
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Former candidate for Board of Supervisors in Spotsylvania, current blogger, economics teacher, and long-rumored windbag. There are two causes closest to the heart: steering the country away from the social democratic nonsense that is sinking Europe, and convincing the rest of the "rightosphere" that the NBA really is a joy to watch.
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18 Responses to "We have seen times more violent than this"
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In
17861876, you had Democrats and Republicans drilling in the streets for a second Civil War over Reconstruction.History is always there to give us that little bit of perspective.
1786?
I think he meant 1886.
We really have to get that edit feature back up and working.
That being said, I wonder how Alexander Hamilton felt about Aaron Burr and gun control?
1876 — Rutherford Hayes. Sorry, gents.
Oops…you have that one already. Should have known.
How about this one from Andy Jackson though:
Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_15895_the-5-most-badass-presidents-all-time.html#ixzz1AfL92FlY
D.J. you are correct. How many duels would it take to injure or kill as many as were injured and killed on Saturday or could have been if a woman hadn’t taken his reload magazine clip away from him and bystanders tackled him?
I’m all for the right to bear arms. Absolutely. I’m for security too. For all of us. A 9 year old girl who wants to learn how to be a public servant shouldn’t have to worry about her own safety to see her political representative.
If I had a voice through a vote right now, I would budget from the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, military and war on terrorism funds to have one dedicated well trained security officer per Representative and Congressman and Woman for their personal security. One pair of really good eyes and ears are better than none.
@Kathy –
As well intentioned as that may be, one officer is not going to do it. Cantor — for instance — has a small staff of officers because of the death threats he has received, and is routinely criticized by the left for putting law enforcement between themselves and their constituents.
Of course, in the past, political parties pay for their own muscle. Early Republicans had their “Wide Awakes” marching down the street, Democrats had labor goons, Nazis had brownshirts, Chinese nationalists had blueshirts, etc.
I’m not sure I want to see law enforcement as a go-between for my elected officials. We’ve lived through more dangerous times to be an elected official than this (Jefferson was chased by an entire company of British rangers…) and overreaction is the last thing we need.
Kathy,
I’ve noticed that you mentioned you have been watching this story very carefully. In some respects, it sounds like you’ve been fixated on it.
Be careful with that. Again, don’t sacrifice liberty for security.
We’re all disgusted by these events…but how many people died of drunk driving this weekend? How many children have had their lives taken because of child abuse this year? How many soldiers have died due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Don’t let an isolated, yet tragic, incident send our Republic careening towards a police state.
I totally agree with you J.R.
Over-reaction as a possible result of this horrible shooting, is a definite concern of mine.
Still running around getting college kids to classes, supplies on top of other things like City Committee meeting tonight but I do, like you, take this serious. And if crying and praying for the victims and their families while observing the moment of silence with our President and country today makes me fixated, I’m guilty as charged.
So what do you want to DO, Kathy? Do you want increased security at public gatherings? Do you you want to restrict political speech? Do you think congressmen shouldn’t publicly meet with their constituents? Do you think handguns should be banned?
Do you have any idea what the left wants to do with this crisis?
I AGREE with you, that this incident was tragic, sad, and gut-wrenching. I have shed a tear myself. But I will be damned if I sit back and allow the seeds of tyranny to creep ever further into our country.
No to everything except I think we can have an open mind and discussion about the times we are in and I am thinking more in favor of budgeting every congressperson and representative having a fully trained security person provided. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this. Copycats await.
I like what President Kennedy said 7 days before he was shot. Freedom to debate and speak what’s on your mind is not an option. It is necessary and must be protected.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZYfeYhQ9eU
Personally I am sick of the politics that only the rich get elected to Washington. If Politicians are expected to provide their own protection that only promotes the tide and leaves no room for the everyman.
It is so very easy to quickly lose your perspective when something like this happens–it was an absolute tragedy and one that probably could have been avoided if people had been doing their jobs. There were red flags all over Pima County about this lunatic, and yet I doubt if anyone will be held accountable. Not the county sheriff who has admitted that his department knew of Loughner making death threats, not the administrators of Pima Community College who had Loughner removed by campus police but didn’t report him to the county mental health services or file a formal complaint of any kind, and certainly not the parents of this twisted psychopath who were notified in writing by the community college that he needed help and, apparently, did nothing.
No, just like after 9-11, we will react with the same ineffectual, politically correct, knee-jerk reactions. Start strip-searching gray-haired grandmothers at airports instead of concentrating on men of military age with Middle East passports, put up metal detectors to screen people entering a political event while ignoring the bulk cargo delivered to the site by uncleared persons, calls for more gun control as if laws will stop lawbreakers, and generally concentrating on appearances rather than results.
“The system worked.” -Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, December 26, 2009
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nor the strange ignorance that came with the belief that somehow, some way, this era of political discource was fouler and more heavily charged than any other in our history.
I don’t suppose you could point to anyone claiming that???
[...] We have seen times more violent than this [...]
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