MISSOULA — Several members of the Missoula City Council on Monday night said violence has no place in American politics, and they expressed thoughts and prayers to those injured and killed during former President Donald Trump's weekend rally.
Some pointed to gun violence and the nation's lack of mental health care, but all who shared their thoughts regarding the incident said the tone of political discourse and division must be dialed back.
“It's important that no person feel unsafe exercising their right to participate in the political conversation, nor should any candidate or elected official be threatened for stepping up to serve,” said council member Mike Nugent. “An attempted assassination of a candidate or elected official has no place in our society and takes away the most precious rights from the citizens who get to decide who represents us.”
Saturday's shooting, which left Trump injured, two attendees in critical condition and one dead, was the first attempt of its kind on a president's life since Ronald Reagan in 1981. Many council members weren't alive at the time and the Trump event for them was both startling and shocking.
“This was an absolutely tragic event and one I hoped to have never witness in my lifetime,” said council member Sandra Vasecka. “My condolences go out to the family of the man who died protecting his loved ones. It's crucial for all of us to recognize that our words do carry significant weight, and we need to refrain from treating our fellow Americans as enemies.”
Others however do remember John Hinkley Jr's attempted assassination of Reagan. The nation learned of the event through newspapers and the slow creep of the day's top television networks, primarily ABC, NBC and CBS. There was no internet, 24-hour news cycle or social media.
The partisan “noise” of the 24-hour news cycle and the vitriol that has become social media is partially to blame for the rhetoric poisoning American politics today, several said.
“I hope this is a wake-up call across the board of where we've been for over a decade, and it has definitely ratcheted up with the rhetoric on both sides,” said council member Bob Campbell. “We always seem to go down that rabbit hole before enough of the facts come out. I think that's due in part to the advent of social media. If nothing else, I hope it makes us step back, pause and wait for the facts to come out. We have to be careful with our dialogue.”
Council members Campbell and Vasecka, along with Sierra Farmer, earlier on Monday signed a joint statement regarding Saturday's shooting and attempted assassination of Trump. Council member Daniel Carlino signed on to the statement on Monday night.
Among other things, it expressed thanks to the Secret Service for protecting Trump from further harm and condolences to those killed or wounded during the incident. It also voiced concern over the tone of dialogue that some believe have fanned the flames of division.
“It is imperative that we come together to ensure that our political processes and discourse are safe, respectful, and remain rooted in dialogue, mutual respect, and the exchange of ideas as we continue to strive, in the words found in the preamble of our Constitution, to become a more perfect union,” the letter states. “The preservation of our democracy depends on our collective commitment to these ideals.”
Council members Stacie Anderson and Amber Sherrill said mental health care and gun violence remain issues that must be addressed.
“I think this conversation needs to be about gun violence, gun reform and mental health care in our country and funding for it,” Sherrill said.
Anderson added, “There are many aspects of this that need to be addressed – the access to guns, the lack of mental health and very importantly, our political discourse. Our words do matter and politicians up and down the ticket need to be more mindful of the impacts of what they say. The way they work to divide our country and not bring us together has long-term detrimental effects.”
