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The Chaotic terrifying shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’
Association Dinner Saturday night reminds us, for the umpteenth time,
that gun violence has reached epidemic proportions. We do not have to tolerate
this level of fear and destruction; we made a choice to prioritize guns over
people, and the results are as horrifying as one might expect.
The prevalence of political violence specifically should
not numb us nor habituate us to accept this as the new normal. Whatever the
motives of the alleged shooter, we have entered an era in which unstable men
(almost always men) with guns try to be political assassins.
Rather than spin false, partisan tales of responsibility for violence (or spend time going after Donald Trump’s enemies or attacking progressive organizations), our federal government needs a level of maturity that has been entirely absent of late.
More than ever, we need responsible,
professional federal law enforcement officials to address the real threats to
our safety and security. The contrast between brave agents on the scene who
performed with remarkable speed and efficiency and the upper ranks of the Trump
regime who are in positions of extreme importance and power could not be
greater.
Finally, the incident should also remind us that
access journalism — covering politics as a sport or celebrity beat — and
normalizing a president who daily shreds the First Amendment must end. Just as
we do not have the law enforcement leadership we need, we are missing a
credible, fearless legacy media. If ever we needed “truthful but not neutral”
journalism and unstinting candor, it is now. To accept anything else is to
consign ourselves to never-ending political violence and mayhem.
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