Missed

I am usually fairly quiet about my political opinions, but like many people, I was rattled by the events in Pennsylvania on Saturday, and firmly believe there was more than just luck at play when a bullet miraculously only clipped its target's ear.

While I would describe myself as being politically somewhere in the middle of the road or perhaps as a soft and somewhat libertarian-leaning flavor of conservative, I still don't belong to any political party, and I remember being horrified when Mr. Trump began his presidential campaign prior to winning the election in 2016. At the time, to me, it felt like the nation was stuck in a hopeless choice between being ruled by Professor Umberidge or Gilderoy Lockhart. I didn't even bother voting that year.

While I will refrain from further elaboration on my current leanings, my opinions have changed significantly since then and I did not dislike Trump's America, even if the man's personality and mannerisms bothered me immensely. They still do, though it's very hard not to respect his character after seeing his reaction to being an inch away from meeting St. Peter, both immediately afterwards and in the days that have followed. What I definitely dislike, however, is seeing how strongly and openly people can hate and publicly condone violence, especially following the events that occurred this past weekend. It's a good thing Elon Musk purchased 'X'/Twitter, because there's a lot of public dialog and footage available that would likely not have previously been visible or balanced on the platform. It's been alarming and sad to read some of people's comments following the shooting and the complete lack of empathy some have for the victims and their families, and I have also been very disturbed by the comments of certain coworkers and friends that are more left-leaning and generally very pro gun control; I guess that changes depending the intended target. Ironic.

There is almost always a very disturbing viciousness bubbling under the surface of those leaning farthest to either side of any extremes, and the political spectrum is one of the places where it's the most obvious and it's very, very scary. All I can say is this: anyone who would openly call for the death of another human being or revel over the killing and/or injuries of the bystanders at the rally simply because of their opposing ideology is evil. Innocent people were hurt and that is never something to celebrate, in any circumstance. It's sick. We are all Americans, and, more importantly, we are all people.

I will probably always be sitting on the fence between the two main political parties, occasionally dipping a toe to one side or the other, but regardless of my political opinions, there's no denying that Mr. Trump was very lucky and, love or hate him, he has a backbone made of steel, for which I respect him immensely. I firmly believe that whenever someone takes cheap shots at you or tries to destroy you, the last thing that you should do is give up or keep your head down. Instead, be brave and continue doing what you know to be right: stand up, wipe the blood off your face, put your fist in the air, and keep on fighting.