By Jeremiah Johnson
When attacks like this happen, the first and most obvious thing that every political figure does is to condemn the violence. I think this is the morally correct choice, but it’s worth unpacking why.
It’s not a secret that in my day job I am quite liberal and vocally anti-Trump. I think he’s a genuinely dangerous person, far beyond the typical partisan disagreements I have with other Republicans. I think given the opportunity, he would gladly seize authoritarian power. He has little respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law, or anything else other than his own profit and power. He has a history of encouraging political violence himself. I’d even say that if he were to drop dead of a heart attack tomorrow, the world would be a better place for it. So why exactly, ask some voices, should we be concerned for Trump? If he’s so awful, if he’s such a danger to democracy, if he promotes violence himself… why do we need to condemn violence against him?
When I try to wrap my head around difficult or painful topics, I tend to fall back on my core values. Before I am anything else – a Democrat, a New Yorker, an American – I am a liberal. I condemn political violence because I’m a liberal, and because I remember the purpose of liberalism.
