Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column.
I had a commentary on foreign policy on my mind for this week. I still do. But it can wait. The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington last Saturday can’t.
It’s sadly ironic that the terrifying disruption of the dinner, just as it was getting underway, took place at an event designed to honor the First Amendment. Violence is the antithesis of free speech. It seeks to erase and replace open dialogue and the exchange of ideas, silencing them instead.
But it’s not really a surprise in the U.S. these days. Our country harbors a growing number of individuals who see violence as the answer to their hopes, concerns, and challenges. If that involves diverting or eradicating other people’s freedoms and rights, so be it.
Political violence is not restricted to either right or left. Both persuasions have practiced it in America for many, many years. And today it seems to be on the upswing.
A number of political leaders publicly and proudly connect physical dominance with masculinity. It’s only a small step from that to the theory that might makes right. That, too, is the antithesis of the First Amendment.
Our Constitution (as amended) promises that everyone, no matter how personally strong or weak, smart or not so smart, of whatever persuasion or category, possesses the same legal rights as everyone else. That means that no matter how different you think I am, or how much you disagree with me, you can’t take it out on me physically. Or on anyone else, no matter how strong, or “masculine,” you think you are.
For some people that’s hard to accept. And they have plenty of support, on movie screens, TV screens, phone screens, communication options of all kinds. And directly, from other people who think like them.
Though I hope I’m wrong, I suspect that the Washington emergency last Saturday won’t be the last like it. If anyone, anywhere, has the answer, now would be a good time to divulge it.
Top image: White House briefing late in the evening on April 25. From left: Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Director Markwayne Mullin, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Official White House photo, posted on Facebook.