In recent editions of the Independent, I have noticed a tendency for some authors to suggest that violent rhetoric and even violent actions are unAmerican and somehow not part of our historic traditions.
I beg to differ. Even while searching through some of the more coup d'état-prone nations, I’ve not found one where the head of state has been murdered more than four times since the days of Lincoln. Not to mention attempts suffered by FDR, Ford and Reagan.
In Joanne Freeman’s book, “The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War,” she documents that many U.S. Congressmen went to work in the House and Senate armed with a knife or gun at that time, and includes one case where a Congressman was assaulted by another on the floor of the House and left an invalid for the rest of his life.
In a movie I just saw, a western, a woman dumps the contents of a chamber pot on the head of a speaker that she disagrees with. I understand that this is Hollywood, but I think it is worth considering how many Americans’ views and opinions of ourselves are in reality derived from the Hollywood depiction of what it is to be American. Perhaps a topic for another day.
But back to reality; a list of American politicians who were subject to assassinations and attempts would run a column or two. And as long as we keep denying reality, nothing will get fixed.
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