This weekend witnessed the newest act of violence towards a public official. Whereas Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his household slept of their beds early Sunday morning, an arsonist broke into the governor’s mansion. The perpetrator was caught on surveillance footage breaking into the house, and a suspect was later arrested. He has been charged with tried homicide, arson, and terrorism.
Thankfully, Pennsylvania state troopers rescued Shapiro and his household round 2:00 a.m. Earlier on Saturday night, the Shapiros, who’re Jewish, celebrated the primary evening of Passover by internet hosting a seder with different members of Harrisburg’s Jewish neighborhood. At the moment, it’s unclear if the arson was motivated by political animus, anti-Semitism, or each. Authorities proceed to research the incident.
In his remarks following the assault, Shapiro referenced his Jewish religion and the significance of non secular freedom. He additionally had pointed phrases about political violence.
This kind of violence shouldn’t be OK. This type of violence is changing into far too frequent in our society. And I don’t give a d— if it’s coming from one explicit aspect or the opposite, directed at one explicit get together or one other or one explicit particular person or one other. It’s not OK, and it has to cease. We now have to be higher than this.
Shapiro is a Democrat who turned broadly recognized final fall when he was thought of as a possible working mate for Kamala Harris. However as he referenced in his remarks, political violence is not any respecter of events.
In 2011, Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords of Arizona was wounded throughout a mass taking pictures at a public occasion in Tucson. Eighteen folks had been shot that day, six of whom died. In 2017, one other mass taking pictures came about throughout observe earlier than the annual Congressional Baseball Recreation in Alexandria, Va. 4 folks had been wounded, together with Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was serving as Home majority whip. In 2020, a plan to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan was foiled by the FBI. 13 folks had been arrested within the conspiracy.
On Jan. 6, 2021, some supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to protest the result of the 2020 presidential election. A whole lot of elected officers and their staffs hid inside the constructing, fearing their lives is perhaps in peril. Extra not too long ago, Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination try final summer time throughout a marketing campaign rally in Shapiro’s Pennsylvania. Two months later, one other would-be murderer was arrested at Trump Worldwide Golf Membership in West Palm Seashore, Fla., the place the candidate was {golfing} with a donor.
In a deeply polarized nation, it comes as no shock that politics generally turns violent. Partisans attempt to paint their opponents as uniquely wicked. Progressives argue steadily that too many conservatives have violent tendencies, and lots of keep that Trump provokes violence. Such critiques are additionally typically tied to bigger considerations about gun violence and a progressive agenda associated to gun management. Progressive rhetoric reached a fever pitch within the months following the Capitol riot.
For his or her half, conservatives counter that there are many examples of left-wing violence towards Republican officers. It was Trump, in any case, who was the topic of two completely different assassination makes an attempt through the 2024 presidential election. Conservatives typically join their considerations in regards to the progressive proclivities for violence to city riots and vandalism of disaster being pregnant facilities.
This temptation to embrace “whataboutism” is completely pure if politics is a zero-sum recreation and scoring factors in opposition to your rivals is of paramount significance. However as Christians, we mustn’t be pushed by partisan preferences or tribal resentments. Scripture teaches that every one people are created within the picture of God and possess inherent dignity. Homicide and different types of sinful violence corresponding to bodily and sexual assault are all the time mistaken as a result of they ignore the imago Dei and reject human dignity. Due to our frequent humanity, neither conservatives nor progressives have higher worth than the opposite.
Scripture additionally teaches that every one people are sinners each by nature and by alternative. All of us sin in numerous methods, and if we’re trustworthy with ourselves, we all know that we’re all able to far higher sin. Whereas these of us who’re conservatives may need reputable considerations about left-wing expressions of political violence, we mustn’t ever justify, ignore, and even downplay right-wing political violence. Due to the autumn, neither conservatives nor progressives are resistant to the corrupting and corrosive results of sin.
As Christians, our posture towards political violence should be rooted in Scripture. We should always denounce unequivocally the assault in opposition to Gov. Shapiro and his household. We should always reward God that he spared their lives. We should always categorical heartfelt thanks that the arsonist has been apprehended. We should always reject all types of political violence, whatever the partisan dynamics. And we must always champion human dignity, as a result of all folks bear the picture of God.
