This must stop!

Many, across our nation, were shocked and saddened as we heard the news of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a young conservative leader, and, not long afterward, of his death.

This must stop!

This tragedy is only the most recent in a long line of violent attacks with apparent political or ideological motives. It is an epidemic, a cancer on our culture, and it is up to each of us to end it.

Certainly, we all believe in personal responsibility so, clearly, each senseless act is the fault of the perpetrator, but do our culture, our politics, our national psyche play a role? Inescapably so.

A culture which devalues human life and denigrates those with whom we may differ or disagree to the level of hatred so deep that it motivates murder is sick, and in desperate need of a return to the values which have characterized America for most of our history.

Clearly, this violence is not limited to one political party or one point of view.

In 2017, Congressman Steve Scalise (R, LA) was nearly killed — shot by an assailant with political motives during a Congressional baseball game near the nation’s capitol. 

In 2022, the husband of then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), was brutally attacked and beaten in their San Francisco home by an attacker with apparent political motives. 

President Trump came inches from being assassinated at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last year.

Most will remember the killing of an insurance company executive from Minnesota on the streets of New York, not long ago—apparently motivated by disagreement over insurance industry standards—and, even more recently, the brutal shootings which killed two children at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

These senseless acts are hitting close to home, for me. Only three short months ago, former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman (D, MN) and her husband, Mark, were shot in their home in the Twin Cities and her colleague and his wife were shot in their home on the same night by the same deranged perpetrator. As I wrote, then, I knew Speaker Hortman and we served as Speakers of the House from neighboring states together.

Today’s tragic news brought back memories not only of when I welcomed Charlie Kirk to North Dakota, as Speaker of the House, but also of when I first met him over dinner, one quiet evening, years before. Then a very young man, he shared his vision with a few of us, as he’d just launched a small, fledgling organization focused upon engaging young people in America on cultural, philosophical and political issues.

I’m just old enough to barely remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and, a few years later, of Sen. Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King. That was also during a violent time of unrest and upheaval in our nation, but we mourned together, regardless of political stripes. We condemned such acts of violence, mourning not only for the families and loved ones of the fallen, but also for our nation. 

We must do so again… and then we must recover, reconsider, and reshape our society if we hope for it to survive. 

We must return to values which have bound us together, not only as Americans, but as decent human beings.

Values like mutual respect were once common and they overcame any impulse to turn our differences into hatred and violence.

Not any more.

Then, commitment to civility, when we did discuss differences, was common.  We regularly engaged in spirited debate and strove to understand and value one another, even when we disagreed. Often, we believed we could persuade one another, even a little, through such debates. That’s only possible if we first value and respect one another.

It would seem that we now view those with whom we disagree over cultural or political issues as enemies—in the eyes of some — and, for the least stable, as enemies deserving of death. Couple that with a mental health crisis and the most deranged are motivated to carry out acts which would bring such attitudes to their logical, tragic conclusion.

When will these senseless acts shock us enough to wake us up? Only when we again begin to respect one another as fellow human beings and, if you share my Christian faith, as those created in the image of God and, therefore, having value and worth.

Disagreement is not the cancer on our nation. Hatred of those with whom we disagree is.

As I watched vitriol increase and the hatred rise, over the years, I was somewhat comforted by the realization that we didn’t really see it then in my home state of North Dakota. Although our political debates in the Legislature were lively and passionate, at times, they were usually civil and respectful.

That’s changed here, too, but thankfully, so far, not to the point of violence.

The trend, however, is inescapable. Politics and culture clashes are filled with hatred and civility is in short supply. That’s one of the reasons that I’ve participated in and joined the Board of the legislative efforts of NICD (the National Institute of Civil Discourse), which is committed to attempting to help restore civility in legislatures across the nation.

Let’s all commit to being part of the solution, rather than remaining silent or being part of the problem.

Let’s see one another, again, as fellow human beings, fellow Americans, worthy of dignity and respect. 

When we disagree, as we will, let’s commit to doing it with respect and civility, and let’s join together to condemn and put an end to the violence we’re all suffering through in America, these days.