To the editor:
There are no words sufficient to denounce the dastardly violence against Mr. Donald Trump perpetrated by the offender who was ultimately killed by police. We simply must find a way to end all violence. It is interfering with our very political process.
But if one rejects all violence, it is legitimate to condemn the violence done by Mr. Trump as well as that done to him. To denounce the former is in no way to ever justify or condone the latter. They remain unacceptable and reprehensible alike.
One member of the Massachusetts Republican Committee said very correctly that we must not solve our political problems with violence. Perhaps she was in a coma on Jan. 6, when Mr. Trump directed an attack on the United States and its Capitol, an attack which necessarily countenanced physical harm, and possibly death, to many of our nation’s leaders. Indeed, when Vice President Mike Pence was not killed in the assault, Mr. Trump openly expressed regret about that fact, saying, “He deserved it.”
A Republican congressman, who was himself the victim of the gun violence that he had done much to bring on, suggested that we might lower the rhetoric and divisiveness in the country by not demonizing Mr. Trump and comparing him to Hitler. Hitler was demonized because his policies were in fact demonic. When a leader uses Hitlerian terms like “unified Reich,” “vermin infecting the purity of our blood,” and “camps,” the comparison is both natural and compelling.
However, the nation now has a unique opportunity to reject violence, and Mr. Trump, as a victim of it, can be the symbol and leader of this rejection as no one else can. He need only disavow and repudiate all violence, joining in a good-faith agreement with President Joe Biden to accept the results of the election. He can lead us into a time of political peace and civil discourse by his example, fostering national unity by abandoning threats of a violent bloodbath and standing instead by the rule of law.
We don’t need a violence-prone defiant warrior at this critical juncture; we need a savior who will heal the wounds of violence. Precisely because of what has happened, Mr. Trump, and perhaps only Mr. Trump, can be that figure!
Joseph R. Noone
Lynn
