On a quiet Saturday morning, the peace in an upscale suburban neighborhood was shattered when Minnesota’s speaker emerita of the House of Representatives and her husband were murdered. In another neighborhood not that far away, a member of the Minnesota Senate and his wife, were shot and wounded, allegedly by the same gunman masquerading as a police officer.
Why? The popular working theory in the hours shortly after the murders and attempted murders was that the lawmakers supported a prochoice agenda. Really?
It’s the kind of incident that makes you seriously wonder if the world really has truly gone mad.
Sunday, Father’s Day, the updates on the search for the alleged gunman were a constant update on the local news channels. Sunday evening, he was arrested at a rural property southeast of Green Isle. Hopefully, in the weeks to come, we’ll learn what happened and why.
The notion four people were shot, killed and wounded, over their political beliefs is reason to fear for the next generation. Yes, this is an isolated event. But politicallymotivated violence is nothing new in our world. What will our children inherit when it comes to political division and, arguably, hate? Are we satisfied with the world and society we seem to be preparing to leave them? If not, what are we doing about it?
From this desk, it seems like we have a long way to go. You don’t have to wade deep into the cesspool known as social media to find political reasons some believe contributed to the murders and attempted murders.
This column was written Sunday, June 15. Monday, we had to go to press to accommodate the delivery schedule. We will hopefully learn much about the alleged murderer and his rationale in the coming days.
We’re always quick to point out the foibles of the other folks across the aisle before addressing the idea of working together to make things better.
The current mayor of a nearby town noted, “I'm absolutely disgusted with our state's political climate” on a Facebook page dedicated to concerned conservative citizens of his town. A post on the same page points out the current climate is attributed to “the left spouts violence against Trump and anyone that supports him, then they kill their own party members when they start to open their eyes.” Another responds, “It’s not all Democrats, just the ones that are so “party loyal” that they refuse, absolutely refuse, to see any flaws in their thinking.”
So it goes both ways.
Can’t we all work to get along? Ronald Reagan, the Republican president, and Tip O'Neill, the Democratic speaker of the House, willingly worked together to find common ground and worked together to find solutions, despite their significant political differences. They shared mutual respect for each other, even when they clashed on policy issues.
Years ago, the talk show host, Dick Cavett, noted every great idea had elements to it that are both infinitely good and terribly wrong. The example he used at the time was gun powder – it helped pioneers feed and defend their families and it is a key element in us killing one another.
Mr. Cavett could make the same suggestion about social media. It helps us stay informed and it facilitates misinformation, bullyism, bigotry and hatred without a shred of fact. Don’t let facts get in the way of a good post. Sunday evening, X posts included “I hope they have some federal charges ready. If they are state charges, he’ll be out with an EBT card and section 8 voucher by noon tomorrow." Another post featured an image of the man being arrested with a poorlydone MAGA hat placed on his head via Photoshop.
It seems too many of us work harder promoting division than we do at working together to find compromise, a solution more people can live with. Just days before she was killed, Rep. Melissa Hortman supported a state budget agreement reflecting a divided Minnesota House of Representative. She supported the compromise between the GOP and DFL “because that is what leaders do.”
A current member of the Minnesota State Senate once told me he didn’t believe in political conciliation. “You don’t ever compromise what you believe in,” he said.
My son and his wife are raising two beautiful little girls. This fall, the elder one starts kindergarten. What kind of world will they grow up in? Will it be one where division, hatred and bigotry rule the day or will it be a world where people can live together in peace, where tolerance is the norm and we don’t have to fear a gunman murdering our lawmakers.