by Patrice Johnson, chair, Michigan Fair Elections | July 14, 2024
Today as the nation reels from the assassination attempt on former President Trump, one word emerges from the fog of shock and anger: Courage. From the moment a bullet grazed his cheek and ear, Trump made a choice. He could have stayed low and let the Secret Service scurry him out of view to safety. Instead, his thoughts turned to the people to whom he was speaking, so he stood and shouted, “Fight. Fight.”
When candidate Trump emerged from the protective mash of Secret Service, onlookers across the world witnessed a man unbowed, a leader pumping a fist into the air in communication with the American people. Whether a person leans R or D, we all bleed red, and we all know courage when we see it.
This nation was founded on fighters. George Washington was shot at a number of times. The horses he rode fell beneath him. Musket balls bored holes through his red military jacket. Still he fought on. Witnesses attest to his bending a knee in long hours of prayer, no doubt asking for wisdom and the courage to go on..
We all have moments burned into our memories. We know where we were when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Some of us can picture our elementary school classroom when our teachers told us President John Kennedy had been shot. Our fathers and grandfathers carried images of the Allies' landing on the shores of Normandy during World War II to their graves. Last night, a shot rang ‘round the world, and the image of a bloodied man standing and raising his fist is forever imprinted in our memories.
Now we brace ourselves for the legacy media’s predictable attempt to exploit the situation and clamour for gun control. Others will cite a lone gunman. RFK blamed the shooting on the divisiveness rifting this nation in two, and he called for unity.
Unity for what?
This nation has come to a crossroads. One direction leads to a globe peppered with gray cinderblock buildings bloated with all-powerful, big-tech/big-government demigods. The other path leads to a multi-colored beacon on the hill that celebrates individuals endowed by their creator with an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
One path leads to mobocracy; the other to a constitutional republic. One path erodes elections until they are but a sham; the other leads to fair and honest elections in which every citizen has a right to cast one ballot per election. One path leads to rule by emotion; the other leads to rational thought and the rule of law. One way will end with dis-arming and disempowering law-abiding citizens; the other preserves the right to bear arms, to assemble, to own property, to raise a family, and worship as people choose.
In her keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, Rep. Barbara Jordan said,
Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work, wants, to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces, that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups, city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good? This is the question which must be answered.
Ronald Reagan, in a landmark speech that eventually culminated in his winning the presidency, said we as citizens had come to a time of choosing.
Today, as we stare into storm clouds roiling with fear, anger, and sadness, we each must face the possibility that we may fall down. The question to answer is whether we will rise up and fight for something greater than ourselves.
Will we raise a fist or go quietly into the night?
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