After Trump assassination attempt, will we stop accepting violence? Probably not. | Kelly

Dear America:

Is this what we’ve come to? Another lone gunman. Another volley of shots. Another day of hollow excuses and hollow leadership on what to do next.

Welcome to the new American reality. We tolerate violent speech from all manner of public officials ― of all political stripes. And then, someone grabs a gun and pulls the trigger. Is anyone really all that surprised?

This time, the target was former President Donald Trump, who was wounded during a rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, and is expected to fully recover. But who knows who the next potential victim might be?

That’s not a wild prediction. It’s really a question that our nation should be asking itself right now ― along with this deeper concern: Why do we continue to stand idly by as violence becomes part of the fabric of American life?

America has normalized violence

From duck-and-cover shooting drills at most schools to metal detectors at just about every public event ― even baseball and football games ― we have essentially become a culture that has allowed violence to live side by side with us. In other words, we’ve normalized the nationwide potential for bloodshed ― even for our presidential candidates and for plenty of others as well.

Armed guards now regularly stand at the doors of far too many churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship. Maybe we frown, here and there, at this new reality. But has there been any great national reflection on how to reverse this embarrassing trend?

Nah, it’s now part of life ― or so we have come to believe.

Meanwhile, the internet is filled with advertisements for special holsters where ordinary people can “carry” and hide their guns under their Calvin Klein dresses and sports coats when they head to the theater or the local Starbucks.

And, here, in Northern New Jersey, on an otherwise ordinary patch of suburban highway that is also home to fast food restaurants and car washes, a gun shop and shooting range offers classes in “holster draw” and “urban pistol.”

Does anyone find this unusual? Or disturbing?

Nah. People celebrate their birthdays at this shooting range, renting military-style rifles to fire real bullets at targets that resemble human bodies.

“Have a blast,” the range brags in its advertisements. Social media is loaded with photos of smiling shooters.

What to know: Trump assassination attempt: Graphics, maps show you what happened

Just seven months ago, as the New Year opened and America geared up for the presidential election season, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered a sobering message to the nation. Meeting with a variety of law enforcement officials, Garland revealed that despite an overall drop in violent crime across the nation during the previous year, the FBI had nevertheless recorded a “deeply disturbing spike” in threats against government workers.

Was anyone shocked?

Nah. America basically said “ho-hum.” The story lived on the internet for a few hours, then disappeared into our digital ether. There was no national outcry.

The same was true of my column barely two years ago in which I reported that more than 75 members of Congress routinely wore bulletproof vests to public events. America took the news in stride. So did most of our public officials. Wearing a bulletproof vest is somewhat akin to wearing an American flag pin on your lapel.

Why do we abandon our shock over shootings so quickly?

In a way, this kind of disconnect is part of our history. When someone notable is shot ― or shot at ― we’re shocked. But then, we move on.

We’re familiar, of course, with some of the most infamous shootings of our public officials, especially when it involves our presidents beginning with Abraham Lincoln. But where was the national reflection in 1998 when a disturbed gunman, possibly trying to shoot then House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican, stormed into the U.S. Capitol and ended up killing two U.S. Capitol Hill police officers?

Or in 2011, when another disturbed loner with a gun in Tucson, Arizona, showed up at a political meet-and-greet meeting at a local grocery store and shot 18 people, including Rep. Gabby Giffords, a Democrat. Giffords survived but was permanently disabled ― so much so that she left Congress. Six others died, including a federal judge.

America was shocked ― but not enough to come together and make changes that might have stopped such a tragedy.

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As if the shooting of Giffords wasn’t enough of a warning, consider the near-fatal shooting in Northern Virginia in 2017 of Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican.

Scalise was practicing with other Republican House members for a congressional baseball game ― one of the few activities in Washington, D.C., that actually brings together politicians of different viewpoints. The gunman was reportedly a progressive who was so angry with Republican politics that he decided to pick up a gun and shoot someone.

Scalise, now the House Majority Leader ― and, therefore one of the most powerful leaders of Congress ― barely survived. But where was the national reflection ― and perhaps the changes ― after the shooting?

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Can we stop stirring the dangerous rhetoric of political violence?

So now we come to Trump and the latest crisis of political violence. Will this be a moment of reflection? Or will it just become another moment of political deflection?

Democrats have an opportunity to take a hard look at the kind of anti-Trump rhetoric they have embraced. Yes, Trump speaks in bellicose ways. And, yes, he has emerged as a politician who wants to break rules. But Democrats have essentially portrayed Trump as akin to a national traitor ― a “threat to democracy.” Is that kind of sloganeering necessary?

The same is true of Trump’s own attacks on President Joe Biden ― and Democrats in general. From accusations of “Crooked Joe” to the threats to imprison and even execute a variety of political figures, including at least one military general who disagreed with him, Trump needs to examine his own rhetoric and whether it is necessary.

Sadly, this includes Trump’s own words leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And it should now include a promise from Trump to abide by the results of this November’s presidential election against Biden.

Simply put: When one side accuses the other of treason, it shouldn’t be a surprise that someone resorts to violence.

The challenge now is whether America can resort to ways to stop that violence.

Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, as well as the author of three critically acclaimed nonfiction books and a podcast and documentary film producer. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in the Northeast, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Trump shot in assassination attempt. Stop with violent speech