Lincoln. Kennedy. King. We must stop killing — or trying to kill — those we disagree with | Opinion

I find it hard to believe that someone tried to kill the former president of the United States. I know it has happened before, but I wanted to believe that even in the cruelest minds, America had gotten past the point where we think killing our leaders is the right way to straighten our problems.

I don’t know what Thomas Crooks, 20, the young man who attempted to assassinate Mr. Trump was thinking. According to the news stories, he wasn’t the kind of person who sought the spotlight. His former classmates described him as a smart, but quiet student, who always walked through the school corridors with his head down.

Given the kind of person Crooks was, we may never know what motivated him to climb on top of that building, seek out Trump and attempt to kill him.

What I do know is that we are living in an atmosphere of ugliness in this country. And the ugliness is rubbing off on some of our citizens and coming from some people holding high office in our government, people like Trump himself.

Still, violence on our leaders, no matter who they were or what they believed, has never worked. Not with President Lincoln and not with President Kennedy. Not with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and not with Medgar Evers. And it won’t work now.

Violence doesn’t work because it is never right. When our leaders are targeted, we all are targeted. So, let us stop and take a good look at ourselves, especially we so-called Christians.

Because Trump was given another chance at living doesn’t mean that he is a good person and is special to the Lord. Besides, the Holy Bible tells us that the Lord “sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Trump was spared, not because of his goodness, but because of God’s mercy.

Let us not forget the Jan. 6 Insurrection, where Trump told the masses, “... We must stop the steal...” and how many members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats alike — were within seconds of being harmed.

Yes, God loves Trump, just as He loves everyone of His creation. And I am thankful that God spared his life. My hope is that the close call he had with death will cause him to stop and think, to lay aside his rebellious and pompous nature and earnestly ask God to help him to see himself.

It could very well be that Trump will be reelected. As scary as that sounds, some of us know that whoever is elected to the nation’s highest office really doesn’t have the last word. That’s because we believe that God is in control.

And while I have heard about “Project 2025,” and the horrors depicted in that movement, which advocates such things as dramatically increasing the power of the executive branch and drastically reducing the federal government’s role in education, just knowing that there is a Higher Being who cares about what happens to His children, gives me great comfort.

Still, people, be very careful... do not to make Trump a saint just because God spared his life. Instead, let us use the attempt on his life to stir up the good that is deep down in the heart of most Americans, and try to find new strategies to work out our problems.

It is, indeed, a sad day in America when some think that killing the person or persons we disagree with will somehow make things right. That is so wrong.

We are a nation that is now faced with selecting a new president. We expect to hear a lot of speeches about who is the best, or worst, person for the job. That is simply how it works. It is a part of our freedom. But like you, I am concerned about the trajectory of our country.

I am concerned that some of us don’t believe that truth and integrity are qualities that should be prerequisites for a person seeking to lead our country. It bothers me that Trump doesn’t seem to be loyal to anyone but himself. It bothers me that a convicted felon can be president, while other felons can’t even vote for him.

It bothers me that someone who says he loves America would incite others to storm our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — where several people were killed or seriously hurt — and could be voted back into the country’s highest office.

But my friends, this is free America, where anything can happen. Yet, as a citizen and child of God, I can’t let my heart be troubled. I can’t change the thoughts or actions of other people. But as a citizen of this country that I love, I can do my part and vote. And pray.

God bless America.