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The Nation Must Come Together To Condemn Political Violence
The violent action committed in Washington DC on Jan. 6, 2020, was unjustifiable and malevolent. Those responsible for it must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This action was the latest in a mounting list of incidents in which destruction increasingly appears to be the preferred tool by some for addressing political grievances.
Too many people at both ends of the political spectrum are quick to condemn the actions of the opposite group, but cannot see the malevolence in the violence committed by those affiliated with their own side.
This moral schizophrenia presents a clear and present danger to the security and tranquility of our nation. All political violence in the United States must be condemned, or this situation will spiral out of control and we will all pay dearly. Trying to pick and choose which violence is acceptable and which is not is absurd. While we can’t judge each other’s experiences, we have every right to judge each other’s actions.
If this doesn’t happen appeals for peace and justice will become meaningless. Justice will become a relative concept determined by might not right.
When this occurs, the notion of justice will lose its moral power to influence and only the violence will remain. The first step in social justice is obedience to legitimate law. Depart from that and everyone loses. All of us need to do some serious soul searching.
Albert Camus, the famous French writer, and member of the French Resistance, noted that the experiences of the 20th century revealed that there is a poison latent in every human being. If let loose it leads to the utter destruction of all. Calls to violence are attempts to tap this poison. It must be resisted. It is time for our nation to come together to condemn violence as a means of advancing political agendas.
Dennis Galvin is a Westford resident.
