The deaths of young people in Nashville, Tenn., and older citizens in Louisville are a painful reminder that our democratic society is at risk as long as the forces of good do not come forward to sanction that invaluable notion, and to reject violence as a tool for the resolution of social, political, religious or economic conflicts. As an American historian and citizen, I have witnessed what incredible pain and destruction violence can bring. How easy it is for some people who sit at safe office desks, or who view violence at a distance, to ignore or speak glibly of it, and then quickly turn their attention to their daily routine, or to another matter at hand, or to say or write that winning a political contest, or righting a wrong “by any means necessary,” has a virtue sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution, our history, or our moral decency. I ask that media companies engage in a reflective moment and think about what generalized violence would mean in a country the size of ours. No army or populace protected by the Second Amendment could prevent unimaginable destruction without bringing about an authoritarian society built upon the ashes of thousands of buildings burned to the ground and millions of lives lost to a violence inspired by hate that, in large part, flowed from silence.

Source: Daily Sun June 24, 2023 20:09 UTC