Days after the shocking assassination of a United Healthcare executive in Midtown Manhattan last year, Michael Smerconish revisited that same street—a pathway he had walked countless times on his way to work at CNN and SiriusXM.
This time, however, he noticed something significant by its absence.
“There were no flowers—no flowers of the sort that you would see when, God forbid, there’s something that happens on a roadway, and families show up and they leave something as a symbol of that person,” he shared with an audience of thousands gathered in Boston.
Unlike the typical memorials that spring up after tragic events, Smerconish observed instead the presence of wanted posters displaying the faces of other corporate executives.
For Smerconish, his experience underscored a troubling trend in American society—a growing acceptance of violence and a disturbing shift in how individuals regard one another.
“There’s a brazen sense of embracing violence and somehow rationalizing it,” Smerconish mused before state legislators and their aides who were gathered for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual summit.
This was a three-day meeting aimed at uniting lawmakers from across the country. The conference opened on an emotional note, paying tribute to Melissa Hortman, Minnesota’s state House Speaker Emerita, and her family, who were murdered in an act of violence.
Current Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth recounted her interactions with Hortman during their time in office.
Demuth, a Republican who found herself in the minority when Hortman led, mentioned how Hortman extended her hand to welcome cooperation.
“She reached out to me right away and offered a weekly meeting,” Demuth recalled.
“She didn’t have to do that. Other leaders would have. But Melissa’s brand of leadership brought people in, instead of shutting them out.”
As the audience listened, emotions were palpable, especially when Erin Murphy, the Minnesota Senate Majority Leader, recounted the harrowing circumstances surrounding Hortman’s death and the serious injuries suffered by Democratic state Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
“She was brilliant, tenacious, funny, and unassuming,” Murphy described Hortman’s legacy, emphasizing her commitment to public service and her love for her family.
Within this context, Murphy’s words echoed a plea to combat the rising tide of extremism and dehumanizing narratives that seem to be radicalizing individuals across the nation.
Smerconish’s conversation with Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos addressed these very issues, exploring the citizens’ waning faith in institutions and the deepening divisiveness in American culture.
Vos reflected on his experience in a politically charged environment, recalling a moment in a competitive primary race when a pollster suggested that his strategy was flawed because he was not “angry enough.”
“What are you mad about?” the pollster advised him, voicing a sentiment that resonates with many voters today.
Smerconish and Vos examined a range of contributing factors to rising anger in the populace, from the sensationalism of social media, which tends to reward extreme positions, to the isolation many people feel after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All this hostility that we’re condemning is rewarding individuals who are the loudest voice in the room,” Smerconish pointed out.
He stressed that a significant portion of Americans lie within a moderate range, but this nuance is often lost amidst an overwhelming torrent of extreme views presented in media.
As they discussed the need for civility and a return to respectful discourse, the reality of the current political climate hung heavy.
Attending the conference were Democratic legislators from Texas, who had left their state to protest a Republican-led redistricting initiative—a notable example of the conflicts currently fracturing American politics.
Gabrielle Giffords, a former U.S. Representative who herself survived an assassination attempt in 2011, offered words of encouragement to her colleagues.
She urged persistence in the pursuit of civility, acknowledging the difficulties while insisting on the necessity of moving forward.
“It can be so difficult,” Giffords acknowledged, emphasizing the emotional toll such setbacks can take, yet reminding those in power to strive for a better future.
In a time when violence and discord seem to form the backdrop of political discourse, leaders like Smerconish, Vos, and Giffords serve as voices calling for reflection, healing, and a concerted effort to foster understanding and collaboration in pursuit of a more unified society.
image source from：masslive
