OPINION: Political violence hits both ways

I had just gotten in my car to return to Creston from the girls Hawkeye Ten Conference tennis tournament in Shenandoah last Wednesday when I received a video in a text from a Fort Dodge friend.

It was difficult to see details on my phone, and I had not been listening to any news or looking at social media during the tournament. I had no comprehension of the awful scene I was viewing.

Once I heard the news about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk I got that sick feeling you get every time you hear about one of these events.

My first immediate thought was how badly I feel that my grandchildren — ages 1 through 9 — are growing up in a world filled with so much hate and divisiveness. It was a somber drive home, as I hoped we can work for humanity to rise above this and find more ways to listen to each other with at least a speck of mutual respect.

I grew up in an era when these things were happening — John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and later attempts to kill Presidents Ford and Reagan. This isn’t new, but the degree of divisiveness on issues is different now.

I was already beginning to lose my taste for writing political-oriented opinion columns, because it’s just too toxic now. There are too many crazies out there. Many of those columns probably ran opposite of Charlie Kirk’s political stance, but no disagreement is worth a person’s life. It’s nauseating and tragic that a wife and two young children are left without a husband and father over philosophical differences.

What was called for in the immediate aftermath of such a tragedy is for the leader of our nation to speak to the moment, with some kind of unifying message to reassure Americans that we ALL disavow such behavior. It is not a time for finger-pointing or fanning the flames, yet what we heard was that this is a left-wing radical problem.

On the contrary, political violence has been rampant for awhile now, affecting both sides of the aisle. Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in 2011 at a town hall. Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot at a Congressional baseball practice in 2017.

In 2020 there was a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, in retaliation for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rioters tried to get at members of Congress and the vice president and seriously injured Capitol police officers on Jan. 6, 2021.

David DePage tried to kidnap Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022 and nearly killed her husband, Paul, with a hammer. If you recall, there were some in public office and many private citizens who poked fun at that near-tragedy.

Then there was the assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024, and the shooting of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson.

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house was set on fire in April 2025 while the family slept inside. In June, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and husband were shot by a suspect described as a strong Trump supporter. They were the parents of two. There was no call for flags to be at half-staff in that case.

Recently, there was a shooting at the CDC headquarters that took the life of a police officer over the COVID vaccine.

Where is this going?

It’s up to us, as a nation. After this latest tragedy, I was reminded by a friend that most Americans are not like the extremes you find on social media. The majority of us want a better society, where we’re not constantly at each other’s throats and blaming each other for various problems. Those of us on BOTH sides love the United States and want it to be the America we once knew. The America that the rest of the world respected and looked up to as a beacon of democracy and opportunity.

Now, evil is so prevalent in our society that anyone brave enough to take a stance in public is at risk of capturing the wrong person’s attention.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson of Beaconsfield said looking at earth from space only solidifies the obvious fact that we are all one human race, no matter where you live, or your personal beliefs.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s message, nobody should lose their life over a philosophical difference. Last Wednesday was a sad day for ALL of us. And, saying this is a problem on just one side is not moving us forward.

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Contact the writer:

Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

X: @larrypeterson