my thought

  These blogs have turned into somewhat of a commentary on current events. Sporadic at best but some commentary, nonetheless. It is something I have often wondered about, what the thoughts of my ancestors may have been on historic moments, at the time they happened. Our opinions and remembrances will change somewhat over time. It's like playing a game of post office. We will learn new information, hear varying opinions and eventually make our final statement. This morning, I am naturally thinking about the assassination attempt of Donald Trump. My very first thought about that was, I'm not surprised.

  Despite all our advances in science, technology and the raising of "awareness" in society people really haven't changed all that much. In 1835 Andrew Jackson was the first president to be shot at! The pistols, both of them, malfunctioned. Jackson attacked the man with his cane until police took the man into custody. The man was found mentally insane and spent the remainder of his life in an institution. Jackson was convinced that the opposing political party at that time, the Whigs, were behind the attempt. That was never proven. Lincoln was the next president to be assassinated. We all know that story and who was responsible. Lincoln was followed by Garfield in 1881, McKinley in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, Kennedy in 1963 and Reagen in 1981. The time between attempts has grown longer. Perhaps that is the result of increased security and awareness. 

  I'm hearing all the pundits on the news saying, this is the world we live in. The truth is we have always lived in this world. It isn't just the United States and our history, this has been taking place around the world since the very beginning. Kings, Emperors, Chiefs, Presidents, Cesear or any other name you wish to apply to the "leader" of a nation have always been subject to being eliminated. Yesterday a twenty-year-old man tried to kill Donald Trump. The FBI says they are searching for a motive. Seems clear and obvious to me. He didn't want Trump to become president. The only motive to be determined is what would cause someone to do that, not why they did it. And that is something we will never really know. All we will ever have is supposition, guesses and could be.

  So, my comment on this happening is, I'm not surprised. As far as the social aspect of this, the why of it, I can only offer my opinion. I believe social media played a role in "motivating" that young man to act in that way. Some call that being empowered these days. Yes, we hear that term tossed about a great deal these days and it is supposed to be a good thing, a positive thing. Being empowered however is just another way of saying you have permission. Someone else has given you permission to act in the way you chose. This person chooses to attempt to kill Trump. Social media and perhaps to a lesser degree the mainstream media empowered him. If you listened closely to what was being said about Trump with those venues, you can begin to understand. 

  He has been described as every vile and unsavory character you can imagine. It has been said that if he were reelected it's the end of democracy in America. He will begin mass deportations, imprisonments, refuse health care for women, withhold all social services from people, the babies will all starve to death, and in general become a tyrant! All is lost! That is the campaign against him. Is it any wonder that such fear and hate could be aroused in the people? And what needs to be understood is that political party doesn't matter in this at all. It could just as easily have been Biden. That is why I say I'm not surprised. 

  It will do absolutely no good to attempt to place blame on anyone other than the shooter. It may make you feel better about it, it's always good to have someone else to blame, but the fact is that is all it will accomplish. We will once again hear all the cries about gun control, we need to ban guns. We will hear once again about mental health services and marginalized individuals. We will hear all the prayers being offered. We will hear from every corner how wrong that is. Yes, we all know that. And it is sad, the saddest part being, I'm not surprised. That is my thought.