Help! Love, MOM

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On Saturday, July 13th, in Butler, PA former President Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. It has been widely reported that an engineer and volunteer fire fighter, Corey Comperatore died while protecting his wife and 2 daughters who also attended the rally.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks was also killed. Among the wounded were 2 additional attendees who were critically injured.

As I write, the investigation surrounding the assassination attempt — the first on a sitting or former president since the March 1981 attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life — is in progress.

While immediately following the shooting the investigation findings are not yet complete, both American and world leaders have registered their support for the former President’s recovery and their concerns around increasingly violent global political speech.

Certainly and sadly American political violence is becoming common place with predictable, destructive results.

In the same article, Time.com lists the following relatively recent acts of violence against politicians or their family members:

• Jan 2011 – Then Representative Gabby Giffords (D, AZ) was shot as she spoke with constituents; 18 others were also shot with 6 killed including Congressional Aide, Gabe Zimmerman;

• Jun 2017 – Republican House Majority Steve Scalise was shot during a Congressional Baseball practice. Capitol police officers were also wounded but the shooter was killed by law enforcement;

• Oct 2020 – the plot to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, was deterred when 13 persons were arrested who were associated with the local, right-leaning militia group, Wolverine Watchmen;

• Jan 6, 2021 – With a few days left in office, President Trump held a “Stop the Steal” rally. His supporters next went to the Capitol to obstruct the certification of then President Elect, Joe Biden.
  • Many violently entered the capitol building and filmed their activities. Officially, at least 7 deaths are connected to the January 6th attack, and, finally;

• Oct 2022 – The assault of Paul Pelosi, the husband of the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi who was attacked in their home in San Francisco with a hammer. The Speaker was in Washington D. C. at the time.

Indeed, in a 2023 interview, Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska Omaha‘s National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology and Education Center cited that in the last decade there have been more than 540 federal arrests for persons who violently threatened public officials.

Hughes goes on to state that these numbers are growing indicating that regarding domestic terrorism the FBI investigated about 850 people 3 years ago, but the numbers have risen to about 2700 in 2023.

“The Indicators are that the numbers of investigations against those making threats against public officials will continue to trend up.”

Seamus Hughes,
University of Nebraska Omaha,
National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology and Education Center

We must also note with growing alarm the speech of politicians themselves. For example, L.A. Times writer, Jeffrey Fleishman quotes terrorism experts who say, “What is notably unnerving is how politicians have embraced and fueled divisive discourse to heighten animosities” (emphasis mine).

For example, Mr. Fleishman cites Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who today was announced as Mr. Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate, and who also posted on social media soon after the shooting: “Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Contrary to Mr. Vance’s assertions, however, it is widely believed that the speech of the former President himself potentially fuels the most credible threats of political violence.

For example, many of the January 6th rioters as they testified before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol stated they felt drawn to the Capitol by Mr. Trump’s tweet (which read in part), “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”

A New York Times article title intoned “Trump All but Circled the Date.”

More recently, presidential candidate Trump has signaled that part of his Day One agenda, if elected, will include freeing the January 6th rioters — whom he referred to as “hostages” and that he will be a dictator but “only” on “day one.”

Following the shooting, local politician Pennsylvania Republican Representative Mike Kelly, who attended the rally, said,

“I am in a state of bewilderment of how and what has happened to the United States of America.”

In his address to the Nation the next day, President Biden asked Americans to reject political violence and to “cool it down.”

YES! Absolutely! But, in an atmosphere of pointing fingers and placing blame how do we do that?

I propose that one way to approach this admittedly thorny dilemma is to do so with distinctly biblical and, therefore, counter-cultural tools. Some of you may worry about separation of church and state.

Understood. In this instance, however, I believe, that these proposed tools will work at almost any time and in any place.

I propose to gently, respectfully take lessons from the life of one of the victims of the assassination attempt, Corey Comperatore.

However, first, to the immediate and extended family and friends of Mr. Comperatore, I offer sincere condolences in the loss of your dear one.

Although this is not the way I would have preferred to have heard about him, it appears to me that Corey was an amazing person whose loss is keenly felt in your lives.

I pray that Christ and your community will comfort and support you in this bewildering hour and in the days to come.

It appears that Mr. Comperatore was thoroughly embedded in his community. He worked as a long standing member of the local volunteer fire department and was a former fire chief who, in death, was honored by the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association as reported by CNN.

Mr. Comperatore, according to a Washington Post article, was an engineer who had recently turned 50. Described as an “avid” Trump supporter by CNN, Comperatore was no doubt, looking forward to hearing the former president speak in person at the rally on Saturday, July 13th,

Corey Comperatore, a possibly unintended victim at the rally, is spoken of by loved ones, friends and colleagues as a Christian, a husband, a father, a good citizen, and as an “avid” Trump supporter.

Most tellingly for me was that Mr. Comperatore’s, whose political views differed from his step – brother and neighbor and perhaps many others with whom he was close, nevertheless, offered their remembrances of Comperatore in non-qualified, positive terms.

Comperatore’s brother indicated that affiliation with Trump politics did not alter their affection for one another. The neighbor stated similarly that Comperatore, though a strong Trump supporter, was a good and respectful community member with whom he maintained a positive relationship through years.

That Comperatore was able to successfully cultivate and keep family and community relationships while also favoring Trump strongly, I am suggesting, is a function of 4 habits which he developed and that we need at this time. I am going to call these habits: Go 4 It!

• Bible – Go for it!

“Love your enemies” from Matthew 5:43-48 is an often overlooked yet it is a singularly Christian standard of behavior and “being.” It seems that people who met Corey were treated warmly, kindly and with compassion or with love whether or not they supported the former president.

• Please understand “love” in this sense to mean treat people — all people — with a base level of warmth, dignity, respect and civility because they deserve to be so treated simply because they are image bearers of God.

• Please also understand “enemies” to be anyone with whom we disagree. In most of life we can disagree with others, in this case Democrats or Republicans, and maintain a respectful, loving demeanor.

• To put this in election year terms, image bearers i.e. all people, are inherently worthy; that is to say that they don’t have to be a Christian (or religious at all) or vote a certain way, et cetera, to be worthy of this treatment;

• “Town Square” – Go for it!

It appears that Mr. Comperatore interacted in a meaningful way in civic life, in this case as a volunteer Fire Chief and as a volunteer fire department member.

• Now – What will you do? What is something that your local community needs that you can join or start?

• Being actively involved in a community of likeminded folks, eg people who are passionate about fire safety, and, who come from different backgrounds from you and I will cause us to think differently about any number of important issues that we thought we knew well. This is because we will encounter that issue from the different perspective of that colleague with whom we are interacting in the “town square.”

• I recently experienced something similar in a class I recently took where, it initially appeared to me, that many of my classmates and I came from vastly different backgrounds. At first, I was uncomfortable. But, it was good for me to go that “town square” and out of my Christian and work bubble to see life’s concerns differently.

• Church – Go for it!

It is said of Mr. Comperatore that he was a faithful member of his church. This is important because it is specifically in church that we are reminded of the words and teachings of Christ, eg

• Love your enemies;
• Honor the king ; (or, the President and other elected officials);

• When are immersed in Christian community, we are better Christians in community.

• In church we also are reminded that human life is sacred, valuable; indeed; we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made, and if God is for us, who can be against us?

• “Fishing” – Go for it!

By go “fishing” I mean have a whole life. Comperatore apparently loved to fish and he enjoyed his service-filled life. Please go enjoy yours!

Don’t just live for other people, live with them, love with them, laugh with them, labor with them, sometimes, be livid with them. By all means: squeeze all the lovely juice out of your one earthly life.

• You’ll be an amazing witness for Jesus as you better understand that everybody needs the Lord and that you and I are part of that “everybody.”

• My go “fishing” is to go to the beach or to hang out with my family. What’s yours? Go for it!

The chances are good that you may be lacking in one or more of these areas – ummm, you can’t see it, but, my hand is up. In fact, you might disagree altogether. That’s cool. I’m excited to read your comments!

Growing Somewhere: Faith, Family and Finances exists to encourage you (and me) to grow; to be little uncomfortable as we try out new things and to do so in a community of folks who are also trying out the new and uncomfortable, too, like loving an enemy.

Let’s Grow!

xoxo Kimberly