July 18, 2024

America, we need to look in the mirror

 

           When you are 75 years old, reality stares you in the face. You know that you have more days behind you than ahead. And following the July 13 assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump, I pray for the days ahead for our grandchildren’s generation. What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, is why I share with you this letter to our grandchildren.

            Dear Wyatt, Hayes, William, Henry, Fenn, Bayard, Smith and Stella:

            After the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the national capitol, I wrote a letter to you to say that I was sad and ashamed that you had to witness what happened in Washington. And now comes the horrific violence at the political rally in Pennsylvania.

By mere inches, former president Trump’s life was spared. But Corey Comperatore died a hero by diving to shield his family from the barrage of bullets. Two other people were critically wounded. We may never know why Thomas Matthew Crook climbed on the roof of the building and pulled the trigger on that AR-style rifle.

But this I do know. America has slid into a shameful pit of hate and discord. And it’s not just politics. Too often, disagreements end in bloodshed. Sometimes, mental illness is a factor. But too frequently, unbridled tempers—bent on getting even—bring about senseless violence. If civility isn’t dead, it most certainly is on life support.

Dear ones—in my 2021 letter—I said that America was in a crisis. Leaders from the past—such as Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt—believed we should never waste a crisis. We should learn from the experience to benefit the future. Sadly, many Americans prefer wallowing in the pit of hate and discord rather than climbing out.


This is why I pray for your generation’s future. Why does our nation seem so bent on self-destruction? Polarized finger pointing needs to stop. Every American should look in a mirror and ask, “Am I part of the problem or the solution?”

There’s plenty of blame to go around. Consider the fiery rhetoric that has infected politics. Rather than offering solutions, candidates spend more time verbally assaulting their opponents. Why? Political strategists claim that negative ads are the only way “to move the needle.”

The mainstream media—print and broadcast—are flooded with blistering attacks. And social-media platforms have taken the meanness into the stratosphere. People who would never say such things to your face will spew words sharp enough to slit your throat on social-media posts.

You know that I am a staunch supporter of the First Amendment. I think freedom of speech is a sacred right, a gift from our forefathers. But I also believe that, even if we can say something, there are times when we shouldn’t. Regrettably, discretion has one foot in the grave, along with civility.

Before the July 13 tragedy, I had an idea, an opinion. My generation has made a mess of today’s political climate. Why don’t the Democrats and Republicans tap the pause button? Ask Joe Biden and Donald Trump to step aside. Let their parties choose presidential nominees from a younger generation. Maybe that would help our nation heal sooner.

Insane?

Maybe.

But how did Albert Einstein define insanity?

Trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I care about you and our beloved America. We need different results.

It’s past time that we all look in the mirror and ask, “Am I a part of the problem or the solution?”

My dear ones, I pray that you will always strive to be a part of the solution.

Love,

Grandpa

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

dnesmith@cninewspapers.com