No matter one’s political affiliations, an attempt on the life of a candidate should never be condoned.
The events that took place at Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, PA should serve as a wake up call for all sides of the political spectrum. An innocent man died, two others injured while a former president was a mere inches away from being assassinated on live television. In no way should this ever become ‘the norm’. And yet, looking back at the path the political arena has been on in recent years, it’s almost not really all that surprising at all. The current presidential term south of the border started with a violent attempt to overthrow an elected government. With just a few months to go until the end of the term, we witnessed shots fired at a former president. The idea that this could happen in the United States of America would have seemed preposterous just 10 years ago. Lately real-life politics now rival that of the fictional writing of House of Cards, with scandal, convictions and violence dominating the news cycle. The reactions of the public in the hours after the news broke were telling as well, with the first thing on many people’s minds being: ‘what were the political leanings of the shooter?’.
Meanwhile in Canada, tempted as we may be to pride ourselves on the fact that we would never display such behaviour, the truth is there are some troubling trends developing. ‘Jokes’ of violence towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are found online or on the bumpers of cars in abundance across the country. While voicing displeasure of an elected figure is nothing new-and is a very crucial part of a healthy democracy-threats of actual harm should never be tolerated. No matter how jokingly they may be offered, the more its normalized and encouraged, the easier it is to push it one step further. As we saw earlier this month, it only takes one to take it much too literally and the result is a life lost, almost certainly collateral damage of the intended target.
As it currently stands, there are no plans yet for a federal election in Canada before the scheduled date of October 2025. Still, tensions are high right now and the mere mention of a candidate’s name can set off a rant, depending on one’s company. That’s not necessary a bad thing-an engaged population in the governance of the country is a encouraging. We can only hope things will simmer down considerably once campaign season gets underway. Political differences should always be settled at the polls. To revel in the idea of any other method would be the first step towards a path that no one should want.
-Adam Prudhomme