OPINION:
America, in case it’s escaped your notice, has been mired in an atmosphere of political animosity and violence — violence that finally led a crazed anti-President Donald Trumper to take up arms and shoot to kill at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia.
But this wasn’t just an act of violence. It was an act of evil.
And it came on the heels of scores of acts of evil, both in word and deed, in thought and motive, that have plagued and dotted the political landscape for months — particularly since the rise of Trump.
The latest left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise in critical condition at the hospital, recovering from a hip wound inflicted by James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old Illinois man whose Facebook page revealed his hatred for conservatives and his call “to Destroy Trump & Co.”
Also injured were Zach Barth, aide to Rep. Roger Williams and U.S. Capitol Police special agents Crystal Griner and David Bailey.
Hodgkinson was killed by police at the scene, thereby depriving victims and victims’ families of the ability to see him brought to justice in court.
Shortly thereafter, Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney reported receipt of an email with a subject line that went like this: “One down, 216 to go…” The message went on, “Did you NOT expect this? When you take away ordinary peoples lives in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are forfeit. Certainly, your souls and morality were lost long before. Good riddance.”
Evil.
But these are not few-and-far-between occurrences.
In March, American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray was met by violent protesters chanting “racist, sexist, anti-gay, Charles Murray go away!” when he went to speak at Middlebury College.
A month earlier, the riots were at University of California-Berkeley, when conservative Milo Yiannopoulos was due to speak. His event, in the face of fires, broken glass and protester-police clashes, was ultimately canceled.
Ann Coulter also saw her speech at UC-Berkeley canceled, in large part because of the Young America’s Foundation and school administrators feared a similar violent eruption.
From college campuses to city streets.
In May, roughly two dozen May Day protesters were arrested in Portland, Oregon, after police were attacked with thrown bottles and other items.
In January, during Trump’s inauguration, the streets of Washington, D.C., were turned into a Third World war-like zone, with anarchists and anti-Trumpers destroying storefront windows, setting cars ablaze, fighting and injuring officers. More than 200 were arrested.
In November, after the presidential results were final, anti-Trump protesters took to streets in numerous cities to express their unhappiness with the result — by smashing cars, destroying business properties, walling off streets to traffic, screaming “hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” and generally causing as much mayhem and chaos as possible, for a period of three nights. Hundreds were arrested at spots around the nation.
Evil — all of it. Carried out by people who mask their wicked intents and furious uprisings as First Amendment rights.
Meanwhile, all the while, those of the Left continue to call for Trump’s impeachment — knowing full well he’s not even committed an impeachable offense — sue him for ridiculous emoluments charges, paint him as stealing the election and betraying America, and generally incite as many mass uprisings and protests as it takes to realize their ultimate goal: to toss the president from the White House in disgrace.
Even their “Resistance Summer” plan to trot out the grassroots and fire up 50-state opposition to Trump is based in hatred and anger. What should be a peaceful First Amendment no-brainer is actually a MoveOn.org militant call to “build and demonstrate the electoral power of the Resistance.”
If it’s for “the Resistance,” how can it simultaneously be for the country?
But it’s not. Once again, it’s evil at work. Why? It goes to motivation — to the condition of their hearts.
Those participating in such partisanship are not motivated by truth, but rather hate and anger. And their goal is not the betterment of America, but the advancement of their own political wills.
Moreover, count on this: the vicious atmosphere is only going to grow worse.
As Psalm 81 tells us of those who are determined to be disobedient, “So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.” Those who steadfastly follow evil, soon enough lose the ability to discern evil — and therefore, lose the ability to recognize and stop their own evil ways. So for the rest of us, that means more violence is looming, more uprisings are on the way — and more challenge and hardship to carry out the pressing to stand fast in faith is most definitely coming.
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