Dear Editor,

It seems we have a discussion started on the topic of political discourse in America upon the pages of your newspaper and considering recent events, I, and it seems others, believe it relevant to continue it.

With regards to the first half of Mr. Dale’s letter of the 15 June, there has always been “disrespect” in politics since the first time we had two different ideologies competing for the same office in 1796. In fact, some of the “negative” politics in today’s races pale in comparison to those of the past, especially the Adams-Jefferson races which were particularly nasty ones. The point, which Mr. Dale missed in responding to my first letter, is that political discourse is now spiraling down to a dangerous level. We have now gone beyond disrespectful and negative, as yes, those of the Democratic persuasion, have put forth an apocalyptic world ending vision of our Nation if evil Republicans are not stopped at all costs. The violence from this visceral rhetoric has continued to rise culminating, so far, in a man taking it literally, making a list of Conservative Republicans that needed to be stopped and then taking a weapon to a baseball park to start checking people off the list. This must end.

This leads me to Jim’s second half of his letter. Yes, I was invited to the signing by Mayor Arendt of the National Gun Violence Awareness Day proclamation but the language of the proclamation was more in the tone of the way to reduced gun violence was to lock up or get rid of guns, omitting any mention of the positive effects of education and personal responsibility in solving the problem. I clarified my points by relating the recent brutal attack upon my daughter by a man who has no legitimate claim of belonging to the race known as homo sapiens. I told the group that if she had had access to a weapon, it would not have been of any use to her if she would have had to waste time unlocking and loading it before defending herself.

I am puzzled by Jim’s comments toward the end of his letter of being “scared” of my loaded and unlocked weapons in my home. If such an above mentioned animal was to force his entrance into my home, the possibility of a “civilized trained” law enforcement officer protecting me and my family, living 11 miles out of town, is zero and the chance of me doing so with an unloaded and locked up weapon is very nearly the same. Senator Rand Paul, speaking about the baseball park attack, also echoed this sentiment when he stated that without the presence of Congressman Scalise, who travels with an armed security team because of his position as GOP House Whip, they all would have been “sitting ducks” and the carnage would have been much worse. Jim is always welcome in my home though if he wishes to visit.

We have never lived in the Utopian civilized world some people envision and probably never will, we are humans and as such will never be infallible. There have certainly been times, however, when we have been more respectful, more responsible and more tolerant, when our moral compasses have pointed more towards true North. Seeing that I was invited to the proclamation signing, the
horrific story I was relating and the people, all of whom I knew, that were present, I would have been shocked by any rude behavior of any “unruly Democrats”.
Perhaps they can pass this more civilized attitude along to their compatriots, it would be a great start.